Aishiteru
by Kyuuseishu Setsuna
Summary: Dedicated to KatyChan. It has already been two years since they first met, and Sandy and Maxwell's relationship continues to grow stronger. However, the couple soon faces the most difficult hurdle of their relationship... Please RxR
1. It was only yesterday

**Disclaimer: **We don't own Hamtaro. If we did then we would've dedicated an entire episode(s) to Katy rather than writing this fic.

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**Chapter 1: It Was Only Yesterday…**

"HEY YOU EVIL CHICKENS! THAT'S SANDY'S RIBBON! GIVE IT BACK OR I'LL HAVE TO APPLY SOME PAIN TO YOUR REAR END (nice use of words Maxwell!" Maxwell tossed and turned as his dream continued on. Apparently his dream was about those evil chickies attacking the ham-hams once again. Maxwell then charged at the "chickies" at full speed…

….only to be woken up by the metal bars in his cage. He then looked around to realize that he was still in his cage and that it was nothing but a dream. However he did smile when Sandy showed up in the dream. Then he remembered something. "Hey isn't tomorrow…" He then checked the calendar and realized today was February 15, the day before the anniversary of the first time they met. Even though it was pretty long ago, Maxwell still remembers it perfectly well, as if it were yesterday (kinda ties into First Sightings of Love, though it has nothing to do with any part of the MoL series). Then he realized one other thing. _You know despite how long we've been together we haven't had one date. And it seems that she's the one always giving me something, and I never give her anything. Even on Valentine's Day, she was the one who gave me that sunflower seed…but I didn't give her anything. Maybe I should talk to Sandy about it when I get there. _Maxwell then grabbed the Valentine seed Sandy had given him yesterday, left his cage, and headed for his secret exit through the book case.

At the same time, Sandy was already getting out of her cage and on her own way to the clubhouse as well. When she got outside, she passed by several familiar places. As she headed to the nearby tunnel that lead to the clubhouse, she saw a boy and a girl by the cherry blossoms. She couldn't make out what they were saying since she was pretty far from them, but she could see the girl blushing when the boy held her hand. Sandy blushed too as she watched the newly formed couple walk away hand in hand. It was like watching a romance movie…except even better because it was really happening before her eyes. After watching that, Sandy then thought about her boy-ham. _That was so romantic. I'm sure those two will be totally happy when they see each other everyday. Maybe they could go out to a fancy restaurant or something. sigh But now that you mention it, Maxwell and I have never been on a date before. Even after we confessed to each other, we haven't even gone on one date. And how stupid of me to give him just one sunflower seed for Valentine's day. I know it had a very pretty bow, but that was only one seed. One seed isn't enough and tomorrow is February 16, the day we first met. I have to do something special for him. _With that in mind, Sandy jumped into the tunnel and headed for the clubhouse.

Today at the clubhouse was like any other day. Everyone was acting like they always did. The only difference was that all the boy hams had their valentine seeds from yesterday with them, all talking about their success of getting Laura to give the box of chocolates to Travis.

"Guys," Hamtaro began. "I just wanna thank all of you for helping me. I mean you all didn't have to…" However Bijou covered his mouth before he could finish.

"Oh, do not be so modest Hamtaro." Bijou reassured him. "We would have done it even if you had not asked."

"That's right!" Boss said supporting Bijou. "We're a team. We're not gonna let you do it alone." Hamtaro smiled.

"You're right. We are a team!" Hamtaro then let out a sigh. "But I wonder what's gonna happen next."

"You know they could end up going on a date." Pashmina said with her usual smile along with Penelope's "Ookwee!"

"A date?" Apparently a few of the boy hams had no idea what that was.

"Are ya kiddin'!" Howdy said in a burst of excitement. "You have no idea what a date is!"

"So you know what a date is Howdy?" Oxnard asked.

"Yeah. A date is the month and day put together. How can anyone be so stupid? But then again I am the smart one." Howdy then ran around the room saying that he was so smart. No one in the clubhouse was amused by this. "Yeah I know…go in the corner."

"So you wanna know what a date is?" Stan asked as he came in shaking a tune with his maracas. However Boss, Howdy, and Dexter were being a bit skeptical.

"How can we trust you on this?" Dexter questioned him. "You were, after all, the one that LIED to us saying that you receive one hundred presents on Valentine's Day."

"OKAY! I LIED!"

"C'mon. Be a bit easy on Stan." Pashmina said calming everyone down. "He almost didn't get a present yesterday." Boss, Howdy, and Dexter just pouted.

"So what's this date?" Cappy asked from beneath his saucepan cap.

"A date is where you take the one's you love and do something enjoyable and maybe even memorable." Stan said in a calm manner. "Usually most of them take place at a fancy restaurant, at a carnival, or sometimes at the movies." A few of the ham were still skeptical but Sandy reassured them.

"My brother's right guys. That's basically what a date is." Sandy then looked at Maxwell who was still reading his book. _Should I ask him out?_

"Hello? Anyone in there Sandy?" Stan said as he waved his maracas in front of her face.

"Oh? Sorry, I guess I just, like, spaced out there." Sandy said apologetically. However the thought of a date was now running through the minds of most of the ham-hams.

Later as all the ham hams went to play outside, Boss hesitantly walked up to Bijou. _Taking the one's you love out somewhere to make it memorable huh? _He finally walked up to Bijou and tapped her on the shoulder. "Um…Bijou, I've been meaning to ask you…"

"Yes Boss, what is it?" Bijou asked. However Boss was stuttering like he always did. It was too hard for him to say it right in front of her.

"Well ya see…I…" Boss was still struggling with the right words to say. _This is harder than I thought… _"Uh…um…well…B-Bijou would you like to go somewhere tomorrow?"

Bijou smiled. "Oh of course I would, silly." In Boss' mind, he felt that he finally had the girl-ham of his dreams under his grasp. _YES. I DID IT! I finally got Bijou to notice me! _Then…

"BOSS WATCH OUT!" Boss then looked up but all he saw was stars. On top of him was Hamtaro dizzy from the fall. "Sorry Boss. I was just getting some acorns."

"Oh Hamtaro." Bijou giggled. Then Bijou said "Hamtaro, would you like to go out with me tomorrow? Boss said that he's bringing me somewhere."

"That's sounds like fun. Sure I'll go." Hamtaro replied.

"WHAT!" Boss then realized that this was going to be even harder than he thought.

Close by, Dexter and Howdy used hamspar at each other. Panda just watched as they preformed the fiery ham-chat..

"Not again…" Howdy and Dexter turned around to see Pashmina a bit annoyed. "What are you two fighting about?"

"Oh we're not fighting." Dexter said. "Two of the ham-ham rangers are sick tomorrow so they can't make it to the show. We've decided to fill in for them."

"Oh that's so sweet of you Dexter." Pashmina said with big bright eyes.

"HEY HEY! I CAME UP WITH THE IDEA FIRST!"

"NO I DID!"

"NO I DID!" Howdy and Dexter then performed a real hamspar.

"Wow. If you can do that then maybe you can do even better than the actual ham ham rangers." Panda said as he watched the two fight again.

"Uh, Panda?" Panda turned to see Pashmina blushing a bit. "I was wondering if you would like to go somewhere tomorrow…or something like that?"

Panda sighed. "I would, but I'm working on something."

"Oh…" Pashmina looked down at the ground. Then Panda thought of something.

"Hey, how about this?" Pashmina looked up at Panda and listened. "You go out and have fun tomorrow. I'll catch up. After all, I'm almost finished." Pashmina blushed and nodded.

"Okay. I'll wait for you. By the way, what are you working on?"

"Oh you'll see. Dexter and I have worked hard on it. I just need to polish it up and it'll be ready." Panda told Pashmina.

Not far from the clubhouse, Sandy and Maxwell were talking about how they met each other that one faithful day near the lake.

"Yeah, I thought I was a goner." Sandy said as she recalled memories of the past.

"Luckily I caught you going into Fish Alley and had that paper roll with me." Maxwell said with a smile. "I was able to "bark" them away. Oh no! I'm starting to sound like Howdy." Both of them laughed. They were really having a good time. Then Maxwell remembered. _Oh yeah. The date! _"Uh…Sandy, can I ask you something?" Sandy then looked at Maxwell with deep pools of emerald in her eyes. Maxwell was now having hard time getting out what he wanted to say as he looked at the sweet, tiger striped girl-ham. _Why is it so hard to speak now? I mean, I was able to show my affection for her. Why can't I just ask her out on a simple date! But then again…how can you speak in front of a gentle girl-ham like this? Even though I know we both love each other…it still feels like our relationship has only just begun._

Sandy looked at Maxwell oddly. As Maxwell started to stutter a bit, Sandy was having a few thoughts of her own. _Awwww…he's so cute when he stutters like that. But why does it look like he's about to propose to me? But that's not a bad idea. _Sandy giggled to herself. _But what is he gonna ask? If he's asking me on a date, he should just say it. But…I'd probably be doing the same thing. I mean how can you speak to someone who's so smart and handsome? Even if we've been together for awhile it seems that our relationship is starting now as we speak. _Both of them looked at each other and just blushed and laughed.

Maxwell then cleared his throat. "Sorry about all that Sandy. I was wondering…would you like to go somewhere tomorrow. Like I don't know…a fancy restaurant, see a movie or something?" Sandy blushed again and replied:

"Of course. I'd love to!" Sandy could then see the triumph in Maxwell's face. However Maxwell remained calm and said:

"Great. How about we meet at the clubhouse at…11:00? Does that sound good?"

"Sure does." Sandy replied. "Well it's late and I have to like get home before Hillary notices that I'm missing." Sandy then went ahead and schmubby-wubbied Maxwell, while blushing a bright red color. "Well, like, Bye-Q, Maxwell. See ya tomorrow!" Sandy said, running towards the tunnel that lead to Hillary's. Maxwell just stood there for several minutes. Then…

"YES! I DID IT!" Maxwell ran around and did several flips, which ended up making him dizzy for a few minutes. Maxwell sighed a breath of relief. "Just like a date was defined by this morning: a time of enjoyment with the one's you love that becomes very memorable." Maxwell smiled as he continued on his way home. Little did he know a few ham-hams were watching.

"That was so romantic." Bijou said from behind the tree.

"I know." Pashmina replied. "I hope their date turns out well." Penelope nodded.

"Speaking of dates." Suddenly strong arms wrapped around Pashmina. "How about you and me go out to this nice restaurant?"

"Sorry Stan but we're just gonna hang around Panda and Cappy. They said they wanted to show us something." Stan sighed as his request for a date with Pashmina was rejected. "Maybe you could come along with us. Maxwell is taking Sandy out on a date so she wouldn't be able to hang around you tomorrow." As they were leaving Stan ran back to Pashmina hastily.

"WAIT A MINUTE! MAXWELL ASKED SANDY ON A DATE!"

"Yeah. It was eventually gonna happen." Pashmina replied to Stan's reaction.

"I'm sure they'll turn out fine." Bijou added.

"Y-Yeah. I'm sure of it." Stan said hesitantly as they left. He then let out a sigh. _Oh man. This is bad. Sandy might not know the dangers of going on a date with a complete stranger…oh what am I saying? Maxwell's a good guy. He's gonna do anything bad. _Then Stan started having second thoughts as something came to mind…

Sandy and Maxwell were standing next to a pitch black door. Maxwell had a funny smile on.

"C'mon Sandy. There's a great collection of books on gymnastics in here." Maxwell said.

"Oh okay." Sandy entered the room with Maxwell tagging behind. Then all of a sudden… "Maxwell! No not yet! We should wait awhile…"

"AAAAAAAAAHHH!" Stan rose up from his sleep. Apparently it was nothing but a dream. Stan was breathing hard as sweat trickled down his tiger striped fur. _Oh man, there's NO way I'm letting him get my sis pregnant! I'd better spy on them to make sure Maxwell doesn't pull a fast one on my sis. _With a new mission on his mind, Stan went back to sleep.

At Hillary's, Sandy was thinking the opposite of what Stan was dreaming of. _I heard that the girls saw what happened. Oh, I'm, like, so embarrassed! But tomorrow is gonna be great. And I'm so glad they found someone to be with and now I get to be with the ham I treasure most for the entire day. _Sandy then touched her cheek as she blushed at the thought of that couple from earlier. _I hope we turn out that way. _Sandy fell asleep, hoping that the night would end quickly so that a new page in their relationship would soon begin…


	2. Disaster Strikes at Lunchtime

**Note:** This chapter is co-authored by WannaKnownLee (ravens)

**Disclaimer:** Once again we do not own Hamtaro. If we did then there'd be more S/M episodes. x;; However some of the characters in the last few parts of this chapter are owned by Ravens.

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****Chapter 2: Disaster Strikes at Lunchtime**

The sun had finally rose. The glistening light touched Sandy's tiger-striped fur and it's bright light made her emerald eyes open. Sandy woke up with a weird sensation.

"It's time." Sandy said with a smile. Sandy got up and fixed herself up her fur a bit. She couldn't decide how she wanted her fur. Then she giggled as she realized what she was doing. _Uh-oh... I'm, like, starting to act like Bijou. I guess it's just cause I wanna look good on our date. _Sandy looked at herself in the mirror. She examined herself, looking deep into her heart until she finally made up her mind. Sandy just fixed the ribbon on her tail and decided to stay the way she was. _I'm sure Maxwell wouldn't mind anyway. It's better that I go as myself then pretend to be someone I'm not. After all, Maxwell loves me for who I am and would want me to enjoy the date rather than totally worry about what I look like. Oh, I can't wait! I wonder where we're going first. _Sandy decided it was better that she found out for herself and left for the clubhouse.

At the bookstore, Maxwell was taking a look at one of the books he found.

"What am I going to do?" Maxwell wondered. The book he was looking at was unfortunately called "Dates for Dummies". Maxwell sighed as he wondered what he was going to do for the date. _I wonder what I'm gonna do. Why didn't I plan this thing earlier? Maybe I'd be more prepared. But I decided to ask her out without even thinking. _Maxwell then looked outside and saw a boy and girl together, hand in hand. As the couple passed the bookstore, Maxwell had a feeling of confidence in his heart. _I should stop worrying. I should just act cool and enjoy our date. After all I'm spending the entire day with the one I care about most. I'm sure she wants me to act natural rather than be all tense. _Maxwell then thought of something. _Hmmmm… I wonder if Panda will let me borrow it._ Maxwell decided to visit Panda's quickly before the date.

At Mimi's house…

"It's almost done." Panda said in excitement. The place was pretty dim with only a bit of light focused on something. It was hard to tell what it was, but it was obviously the secret device he has put his heart into for the last couple of weeks. "All I need is to do this and polish it and it'll finally be done." Panda thought it was best that he used a smaller hammer so he wouldn't break it. "Better be gentle." However right before he could do anything…

"HEY PANDA!" Panda shrieked and almost destroyed his secret device. Panda sighed a breath of relief when he realized that his creation was still in one piece. He then turned to the ham in the door way.

"Maxwell, could you please knock before you do that? I almost ruined my--" Panda paused and covered his mouth, not wanting to reveal the secret device.

"Sorry Panda." Maxwell said apologetically.

"Oh it's alright Maxwell." Panda told his friend. "I'm just all worked up on this. So what do you need?"

"Well…" However Panda stopped Maxwell from responding.

"Hold on. You're on a date with Sandy, right?" Panda asked. Maxwell nodded. "I think I know what you're gonna ask me. It's in the back, behind Mimi's piano. Can't miss it. I even polished it up and reworked some of it to run better."

"Thanks Panda." Maxwell said with gratitude.

"Anytime Maxwell." Panda responded to Maxwell. As Maxwell left the room, Panda chuckled to himself. _Those two really were made for each other. I knew it after they bumped into each other that fateful day. I hope it turns out well. Good luck, Maxwell._

Sandy was already heading for the tunnel to the clubhouse, until she found the couple she saw yesterday pass by again. The two were having such a good time as they headed to wherever they were going. Then she saw the boy flash out a ring. It wasn't an engagement ring, but it was a very special ring that made the girl blush as the boy placed it on her finger. She blushed as they enjoyed their moment together. _Oh my gosh! That was, like, sooo romantic! I wonder how we'll turn out, though? _Sandy shook the doubt out of her mind. _Oh what am I thinking? We're gonna do fine. I'm sure that after this date, we'll love each other even more. And then maybe we can get married and…Oh Sandy, you're, getting way ahead of yourself. It's, like, totally early to be thinking about marriage…although it's, like, not such a bad idea. _Sandy giggled to herself. Then she spotted something several feet behind the couple. It was a man who seemed like he didn't enjoyed the idea of those two together. He cringed as the two continued to enjoy themselves. He then continued to follow them. Sandy, who was watching the entire thing, started to get a bit steamed. _That guy is trying to ruin their relationship. But why would anyone want to do something like that? Why stop someone from loving another? I hope someone catches that jerk. _Sandy then headed for the tunnel…

…without noticing that someone was following her. _I don't want to break up their relationship, but if it'll prevent Maxwell from doing anything to hurt my sister or make her pregnant, I will! _Stan quietly used a nearby tunnel to head for the clubhouse quickly.

Sandy had finally made it to the clubhouse to see Maxwell in front of the clubhouse.

"Hamha, Sandy. I'm glad you decided to come." Maxwell said with a smile. Sandy smiled back at her boyham.

"So where are we heading first, Maxy?" Sandy asked.

"You'll see in a minute, Sandy." Maxwell responded. "I just want to show you something." Maxwell then took her paw and brought to something covered in a sheet. "I was thinking that rather than running all over ham-ham land, I've decided to ask Panda and borrow this." Maxwell then pulled off the sheet and it revealed to be…

"Wow! A car!" Sandy said with excitement. Like Panda promised, the car was a polished up blue convertible, and it seemed like it was in good condition.

"Like I said," Maxwell continued. "I asked Panda and he said that he polished it up and reconfigured everything so it should run smoothly."

"Yeah, but who said the driver was any good?" Sandy said. Maxwell pouted from hearing that remark. "Oh come on Maxwell, I was just kidding. And the good thing is that we're going to…to…hey where are we going anyway?"

"I've decided to start the date off at Chef Ham's new restaurant. I heard it's a really good restaurant and we all know how good of a cook Chef Ham is." Maxwell responded.

"Oh good. I was starting to get a lil hungry." Sandy said with a smile. Maxwell smiled back and opened the door.

"After you, Sandy." Maxwell said chivalrously.

"Why, thank you, Maxwell." Sandy said as she bowed in his direction. They both giggled as they got into the car.

I'd better get there before they leave. Stan said heading towards the car. He quickly opened the trunk and jumped in without the two even noticing. Stan sighed as lay inside the trunk of the car. _Why am I doing this? I'm glad that my sis is happy with Maxwell, but I'm worried that this might go too far. I can't let that happen. I'm sorry sis, but I gotta do this. For your sake. _Maxwell started up the car and headed for Chef Ham's restaurant.

Stan said heading towards the car. He quickly opened the trunk and jumped in without the two even noticing. Stan sighed as lay inside the trunk of the car. Maxwell started up the car and headed for Chef Ham's restaurant. 

The couple was now driving through Ham-ham land (don't ask me how they got there in the first place x;;;). They watched as buildings and all different kinds of ham-hams passed by. In a short while, they had finally reached Chef Ham's restaurant.

"We're here, Sandy." Maxwell said as he parked the car.

"So this is Chef Ham's restaurant." Sandy said looking at the restaurant in front of them. "It's a good thing we decided to stop by. I was getting really hungry."

"Yeah, but there are a lot of hams going in. We'd better get a seat." Maxwell then took Sandy by the paw and they both walked into the restaurant.

Still in the trunk, Stan shook his head. The ride unfortunately had a few bumps, and he had to shake it all off. _Alright. The first thing I gotta do is ruin their dinner. That should be pretty easy. _However as Stan tried to open up the trunk, it wouldn't open. _Oh no…_he thought as he rumbled around in the trunk, trying to tap the door open. _Come on, you gotta be kidding me! _He grunted and tossed around in the trunk, hoping the door would open sooner or later. He charged at the door as hard as he could in the little space he was given one more time, but it was no use. He stopped to pant for a bit. _Oh, man, this isn't working so well! _Stan laid down in the trunk, panting and sweating, and tried to think. _Geez… _he thought, rubbing his head. _Thinking your way out of a tight spot isn't so easy when your head feels like it just got hit by a falling apple!_

As Stan started to attempt at "thumping" his way out of the trunk, a young, brown ham-girl had happened to walk by. She stopped at the sight of the bouncing car and blinked. "What in the world…?" she said to herself. She slowly walked over to the rambunctious convertible, only to be greeted by an even louder thump. "Yah!" she exclaimed, and ran off. "I gotta tell someone about this!"

In the restaurant…

"Table for two, please." Maxwell said to the waiter.

"This way." he answered, walking through a doorway.

Maxwell and Sandy followed him to a room with many tables crowded with hamsters. All of them looked pretty high-class, which made the two of them a bit nervous, but they kept a good front for the other.

"Hmm…" the waiter said, trying to seek out an empty table.

"It's, like, so crowded in here!" Sandy said.

"Yeah, I hope we can find a good seat." Maxwell added.

"No…no…Ah, here we are!" the waiter said, pointing to a small table in a dark corner.

"Oh, I, like, wanted a table by the window." Sandy said, disappointed. Maxwell sighed. He had hoped for her to enjoy the evening.

"You're very lucky. This could very well be the last vacant table in the entire restaurant." the waiter said optimistically.

I can, like, see why! Sandy thought.

"Well, go on and have a seat now. Would the two of you like anything to drink before you order?" he asked.

"I'll just have water, please." Maxwell said.

"Do you, like, have any cherry soda?" Sandy asked.

"I'm sorry, we just ran out." he replied.

"Oh.." Sandy sighed. "Then I'll have water too."

"Alright. Two glasses of water, coming up." the waiter said as he walked off.

Maxwell started to feel a little bad for Sandy. They hadn't even ordered their dinner yet, and, already, two things had gone wrong for her. _I just hope they have something she likes on the menu._

The two of them opened their menus and eyed through the delicacies. "Hey!" Sandy said.

"What is it, Sandy?" Maxwell said as he looked up from his menu.

"They have, like, those tasty fried carrot sticks I love as an appetizer! Oh, Maxy, please, can we get some?" Sandy said, her eyes glistening with joy.

"Um…" Maxwell began, remembering he had only brought enough money for a dinner for two. He looked at Sandy and saw how happy she looked. _I can't let her down…I guess I could spend a little more than I planned. After all, she deserves something special. _"S-sure, Sandy." Maxwell said, with a weak smile on his face.

"Like, totally cool! Thanks a bunch, Maxy!" Sandy said energetically.

"It's no problem, Sandy." he replied, adding a bit more strength to his smile. It was good to see her so happy. "You can order whatever you want."

As Sandy and Maxwell exchanged bright, shiny smiles, the waiter came back to their small, camouflaged table.

"Are you two ready to order, or perhaps maybe you'd like to start out with some breadsticks?" he asked.

"Well, actually, we were thinking of an appetizer or two." Maxwell said.

"Okay, what'll it be?" the waiter replied, pulling out his notepad.

"Could we have one order of--" Sandy was cut off by the panic-stricken voice of the brown hamster, who had just ran into the restaurant. She immediately clung to and started tugging on the arm of the waiter and whined.

"Frederico! Frederico, come quick!" she exclaimed.

"Ack--" the waiter looked over to her and sighed. "What are you doing here, Clio?"

"Frederico, I came by to see you, and…" she stopped to pant a bit. "And there's a car out there that's bouncing around! And m-making grunting noises!"

"…"

"It's really close to the restaurant!" Clio continued

"…"

"…And I want you to do something about it!" she said, a bit frustrated. Maxwell and Sandy were completely clueless, and just looked at each other, then back at the waiter and the girl who appeared to be his girl ham.

"Well, what am I supposed to do about it!" he said.

"You used to be a mechanic, go see what's wrong with it!"

"I've got a job to do! You can't just show up here and tell me to go check something else out!"

"There are plenty of other waiters around here!"

"Umm, excuse me…" Maxwell said softly.

"We're busy!" they yelled.

Sandy wasn't happy with the way they treated her boy ham, and decided to speak up. "Hey! He, like, said he was sorry! Now if you two could take your little lovers' nitpick somewhere else--"

"IT'S NOT LIKE THAT!" they both yelled in unison, turning red.

Finally, the waiter sighed. "Fine, I'll go see what it is."

Maxwell and Sandy sighed. "I guess this'll mean our food is gonna take awhile."

"Oh, I can take your order for you." Clio said.

"Are you, like, sure? You're boy ha--err, _friend_ might get upset, won't he?"

Clio smiled. "It's no problem, really. So what'll it be?"

While Sandy and Maxwell gave their orders, Frederico walked outside over to their car. He immediately recognized it as the one Clio described by the thumping noises.

"Argh! Darn it!" Stan muttered, panting more. He sighed. _I don't believe this…_

Frederico opened up the trunk (Leave it to Maxwell to make sure the doors are locked XD Don't ask how the trunk was locked and now is opened. It's a plot device people. Plot device x;;;) and saw the sweat-ridden, tiger-striped hamster. At first, he wondered if he was seeing déjà vu, since the hamster he had seen with the tall, brown gentleman was the spitting image of this one.

Stan looked up and saw the young ham who had opened up his "jail cell". He noticed his uniform and nametag, then came up with an idea.

"Hey, thanks, Mister--" he squinted at the nametag. "Frederico."

"It's no problem." he said. Stan started climbing out of the trunk, then put his paw on Frederico's back, and started walking toward an alley. "Man, I really would've been in a jam if it weren't for you." Stan said, continuing to stroll him down the dark, hidden area.

"It's no trouble, really…I just--…Where are we going?" Frederico replied.

Suddenly, they were alone in the dark alley, and Stan didn't exactly look "happy" to see him anymore. He held his fist back above his head, and…

"Hey, what are you--AHH!"

Back at the restaurant…

"I wonder what's taking our food so long." Maxwell said.

"Yeah, and that was, like, only the appetizer. Who knows how long the meal is gonna take." Sandy sighed.

Meanwhile, Clio was on her way to the table with the appetizer, when suddenly, a brown hamster showed up right in front of her. She blinked a bit unevenly at him.

"…Frederico?"

It wasn't Frederico, however. It was none other than Stan, who had smudged dirt in his fur to make it look brown.

"Here, lemme take that for ya, sweetheart." he said, snatching the tray. Clio blushed a bit; Frederico had never been the type to flirt like that.

"Er…You know where you're supposed to take that, right?" she asked.

"Of course, doll face. Why don't you go do some shopping? I'll take you out later tonight." Stan said, grinning.

Clio blushed deeper and a gigantic smile took over her face.

"You really mean it! Oh, I'll pick out the best dress in the store! Thanks, Frederico, I'll see you later tonight!" she said as she ran towards the exit.

"Heh. Guy doesn't know how good he has it." Stan said to himself.

He walked around the restaurant for a bit until he found where Sandy and Maxwell were sitting.

"I believe this is what you two ordered, am I right?" he said, high-pitching his voice a bit.

"Oh, where did your girlfr-- I mean, uh, where did Clio go?" Sandy asked.

"She's out shoppin'. I took over again, hope you don't mind." Stan replied, setting the basket of carrots on the table.

Sandy and Maxwell looked at the carrot sticks in delight. Their mouths watered at the scent of the food.

"Now then, may I take your order?"

Maxwell picked up his menu and pointed at his choice. "Yes, I'll have the--"

SPLAT!

"What the--" Maxwell shook the food off his face…or most of it.

"Heeheehee!" A baby ham in a high-chair behind them giggled and threw more of his food at Maxwell.

"No, no, Christopher!" his mother said.

But before she knew it, she was hit by food coming from another direction. It was her older son.

"Micheal, you're setting a bad examp--"

She was hit again. Soon, more and more ham-hams, young and old, had started throwing food. Then Micheal, at the top of his lungs, yelled "FOOD FIGHT!"

"Oh no…" Maxwell said, his face turning pale.

Food started flying everywhere, and Sandy, Maxwell, and Stan were covered before they knew it. Sandy started to fight back a bit, but Maxwell thought it was a better idea to leave.

"Come on, Sandy, let's get outta here." he said, grabbing her by the paw and leading her to the exit. She giggled and went along with him.

"Oh great…" Stan muttered, trying to follow them through the "flock" of flying foods. He slipped out just before they did, dashed over to the car, and dove back into the trunk.

Along the way, Sandy and Maxwell stopped at a gas station to wash off. When they came out, Maxwell stopped Sandy to talk.

"Sandy…I'm really sorry about what happened back there."

"Heke? Like, what do you mean, Maxy?" she asked.

"I didn't mean for everything to go wrong like that… The argument with the waiter and his girl, the long wait, the food fight… So if you wanna go home, I understand." he said, ears drooping.

"You gotta be kidding, Max! I'm having a fantastic time! Don't feel bad!" she said enthusiastically.

Maxwell's ears perked up. "You…mean it?"

"Maxwell…" Sandy said. Suddenly, she began rearing her face in closer to his.

Maxwell was suddenly stricken breathless. _Wait…What's going on? That look on her face…this feel… is this…a first kiss? _he wondered. _I've read about this in romance novels…and come to think of it, it's officially been a year since we've been going out, and we haven't even kissed each other yet… But this feeling of warmth on my face…It's like it's flowing through my entire body…But I've never kissed anyone before! How do I…? Oh well…I guess this'll just have to be a first shot. Here goes…_

Max closed his eyes, puckered up and braced himself for the sweet tension he was expecting to land upon his lips, but when he did, air was all he felt. He opened his eyes slightly, hoping Sandy wouldn't notice, but gasped softly and opened them even wider when he felt a warm, moist sensation on his cheek. When those eyes of his whipped open, he saw the slightly red face of his lover before him. He looked into her glistening, emerald eyes, and as one of them winked at him, he felt his face get even hotter.

"Hee," Sandy giggled lightly. "You had some jelly on your cheek, Maxy."

"Uhh…" Maxwell drifted off, not knowing what to say, then suddenly Sandy started running down the sidewalk.

"Wake up, Maxy! C'mon, I'll race ya back to the car!" she called out a few yards ahead.

Maxwell shook his head slightly, snapping himself out of it, and slowly started to chase after Sandy, his speed progressing along the way.


	3. Coming to a Theater Near You

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Hamtaro. If I did I…WELL YOU GET THE IDEA! I DON'T OWN IT! However I don't own some of the "movies" mentioned in here. The "movies" belong to the authors: Katy-chan (of course her. Ravens, me, and rest are dedicating this fic to her.), Ravens, MitsukaiWilliam, and Aeroshamu. I own the MoL series, which are gonna be mentioned as well, and the actual movie shown here (which hasn't even been written at all so don't write this off as an MST yet!)

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****Chapter 3:Coming to a Theater Near You**

Maxwell and Sandy were once again on the road. They had just gotten back from the gas station, where they had been cleaning themselves up after the big food fight at Chef Ham's restaurant. Maxwell was now blushing furiously as the past events replayed in his mind.

That was sure weird... I mean the argument with the waiter and his girlham, the food fight…and… Maxwell started to really blush as he lifted his paw up to his cheek. _I almost thought she was going to kiss me… But instead, she ended up licking my cheek. Man, I was really hoping for a kiss… CURSE THAT JELLY ON MY CHEEK! But then again…it didn't feel all that bad... I mean, sure it wasn't a kiss, but it felt surprisingly good…after awhile, that is. _He then looked at Sandy. Her fur ruffled in the air, her face smiling as they headed down the road. Maxwell couldn't help but smile too. _At least she's happy. That's what really matters. However, one day, I wanna show her that we're much more than friends. Maybe even more than just being boy-ham and girl-ham, if there even is such a thing. Hopefully we'll be closer after this day. But something doesn't feel right…something's missing._ All of a sudden…

Maxwell started to really blush as he lifted his paw up to his cheek. He then looked at Sandy. Her fur ruffled in the air, her face smiling as they headed down the road. Maxwell couldn't help but smile too. All of a sudden… 

"MAXWELL WATCH OUT!" Maxwell then snapped out of his trance and noticed a truck coming at him. He quickly moved to the other side and evaded a critical accident. Sandy was now a little peeved. "You idiot! Stop blanking out and pay attention to the road before you get us hurt!"

"Oh, I'm so sorry Sandy! I guess I was lost in my thoughts." Maxwell apologized. He then switched his attention to the road so as not to get in anyone else's way. _I guess I should just pay attention to the road. I don't want the next destination of our date to be the hospital. I should quit worrying. As long as I'm here with my girl-ham, everything'll be alright._

Sandy just looked at Maxwell and shook her head. _That idiot! He could've gotten us killed. I wonder what he was thinking about. Probably that lick on the cheek I gave him. _Sandy giggled to herself. _I should try that more often…when he's not behind the wheel, that is. But did I see him pucker up his lips before I licked him? So he was expecting a kiss. _Sandy then blushed a bright red color after "altering" the lick scene a bit in her mind. _Oh, I'm, like, so embarrassed just thinking about it. I hope one day we do have that one passionate kiss and then be closer than ever. It's what I've been dreaming about for a long time. But you know…there was a weird sound coming from the back on our way here. Maybe Panda didn't fix it up as much as I thought. But now it's gone. So that's what made Clio jump. Maybe Frederico fixed it up when he checked on it. _Sandy then just continued to look at Maxwell and smile as they headed down the road.

Back at the restaurant however…

"Uh, Mr. Tiger stripes…" said one girl ham. "Can you…maybe…let go of my paw?"

"Sorry Gorgeous, but my paw has a mind of it's own." Stan said, keeping his grip on the girlham's paw. "C'mon ladies, step right up! You have one hot boyham here for the takin'! Come now and maybe we can…HEKE!" He then looked at the parking lot, only to notice that Maxwell and Sandy were now gone. "OH MAN, I MISSED 'EM!" He then released the girlham trying to chase after the car.

"Hmph! The nerve of some boys…" The girl-ham muttered as she stomped away.

Stan looked at the road, hoping to find a trace of the car, but he couldn't find it. Just when he thought it was impossible to catch up to them, he saw something.

"Yo, Mister, I'm gonna hafta use this motorcycle! It's an emergency!" Stan said as he ran up to a ham and flashed his wallet with a couple of pictures of him and Sandy when they were younger. "I'm a brother!" He then pushed the ham of his motorcycle and started it up in hopes to find Maxwell and Sandy. _Well what do you know, it's working. Maybe I should play Grand Theft Piggies: Ham-Ham Land more often._

"Um…Maxwell," Sandy began as they continued down the road. "Where are we going now?"

"Hmmm…good question." Maxwell began to think. Apparently, he really didn't prepare for this at all. Then an idea popped into his head. "Oh I know, how 'bout a movie? There's a nearby movie theater that's been showing some really good movies lately."

Sandy's eyes shone with excitement. "Yeah, like, let's go!"

Maxwell smiled and headed towards the nearby movie theater.

Closing in, however, was Stan on the motorcycle. "Good. I finally caught up to them. Now to find out where they're going. Hmmmmm…it looks like they're heading toward…the movie theater!. I'll just hafta beat them there!" Stan jumped right off the motorcycle and used his skateboarding skills to take a quicker route to the movie theater. Little did he know…

"How long until we get to the carnival, Howdy? My paws are killing me…" Dexter said, walking sluggishly. Howdy, however, was a bit more energetic.

"Aw, c'mon, partner!" Howdy exclaimed. "We're supposed to be the ham-ham rangers, not the evil putty-putty ham-hams!"

"I knew I smelled diamonds of sugar from Howdy this morning…" Dexter said to himself. "Note to self, proclaim that diamonds of sugar are ev--AAH!" Dexter was cut off as the motorcycle crashed right into him and kept going.

"Who's the smart one now!" Howdy yelled at Dexter. "Yer not supposed to ride on the horse's nose! You're supposed to ride on it's back!" Howdy then jumped up on the motorcycle and rode it all the way to the carnival. "YEEHAW! Now THIS is the best way to travel!" Dexter muttered to himself to never let Howdy eat diamonds of sugar ever again.

At last, the couple had finally reached the movie theater.

"Wow, it sure is crowded." Sandy pointed out. Apparently there were several movies debuting today, so, of course, the movie theater was packed.

"Not again…" Maxwell sighed. Already he was experiencing the restaurant problem all over again.

"Oh don't worry, Maxy," Sandy reassured her boyham. "I'm sure we'll find a better seat this time. There, like, might be a movie I wanna see that not many of the hamhams are going to. After all, a lot of them seem to be going to only three of the movies."

"Which movies?" As if someone heard him, Maxwell heard many of the gossip going around lately. He watched as a little boyham who looked like he dyed his fur white started swinging around a fake sword.

"Take that! And that!" the boyham said, waving the sword around playfully. "Mitsukai William is the greatest fighter in the whole world!"

"Ha! Yeah right!" said another who most likely dipped his paws in blue ink. "It's Keith who'll beat 'em all!"

"You're both wrong!" said one who looked a lot like Hamtaro. "Hamtaro is more powerful than any ham ham!"

"Oh yeah!" All said in unison.

"Hamtaro, William, Keith…?" Maxwell said with a puzzled look on his face.

"They're talkin' about the Mission of Love and Hamster X series." said a familiar voice.

Sandy turned around and recognized the ham ham. "Hey, it's Boss! Like, what are you doing here?"

"Well…I…" Boss started as he began to blush. "I…promised to take Bijou…and Hamtaro out today."

"And Hamtaro?" Maxwell was again puzzled.

"Well you see…when I asked her out…" Boss began. "Hamtaro all of sudden came in and…here we are. Speaking of which…they're late. Where could they be?"

"Sorry we're late!" The three of them turned around to see Hamtaro and Bijou running up to them. "Sorry Boss, but Dexter got hit by a motorcycle on our way here."

"A motorcycle?" All three said in unison.

"Oui," Bijou continued. "He said it came out of nowhere and crashed into him."

"That's, like, totally weird." Sandy replied.

"Oui." Bijou then noticed Sandy and Maxwell together. "Oh, are you two going on a date?" She saw the two of them begin to blush, and couldn't help but crack a smile. "You do not need to answer. I can read the red on your faces."

"Oh, I know!" Maxwell finally spoke up. "How about we all go to the same movie?"

"Yeah," Hamtaro replied. "That'd be hamtastic!"

Boss sighed sadly. _All I wanted was some time alone with Bijou…_

"So which movie are we going to see?" Bijou asked, looking at the choices.

"Definitely not Mission of Love 2 and William's Legacy," Sandy commented. "Those two are, like, so packed with kids. And I'm not really in the mood for action today either."

"So that leaves out The Great Ice Age too…" Hamtaro added. They looked through all the choices available. Winter Wish, Say That You Love Me 1 and 2, Mission of Love 1-6, and even Sandy's favorite one, Twirling Whirling, were already sold out.

Meanwhile inside the movie theater a ham ham was running down the aisle looking for any trace of Sandy and Maxwell.

"It's so hard to find them in this crowd!" Stan muttered to himself as he caught his breath. He had snuck in and searched the entire movie theater. However he had no luck finding either Sandy or Maxwell. _Hmmmmm…maybe if I sneak into the control room, I can check the monitors. But there's no way I'd be able to get past all those guards!…unless… _A mischievous look formed on Stan's face. He had a plan.

"Oh! That one! Like, over there!" Sandy pointed to the title of a movie.

"I heard that was a really good one." Boss said with a big grin on his face.

"Are you sure has nothing to do with it having your name in the title, Boss?" Maxwell asked, grinning. Boss sweat dropped.

"Of course not!" Boss replied, glaring at Maxwell.

"Calm down, Boss, it was just a joke!" Maxwell said shakily, sweating a bit. He cleared his throat and began speaking in his usual tone. "You know, some of us should get snacks while the rest of us find a seat."

"Good idea, Maxwell. I'll go in with Bijou and find a seat for everyone." Boss started for the theater. However, Bijou stopped.

"What's the matter, Bijou?" Boss said. _Oh man, she's not gonna back out or something, is she!_

"Boss, Maxwell and Sandy are on their first date. This is a special day for them. I think we should make them comfortable by going and getting the snacks ourselves." she said.

"Oh, it's no trouble, Bijou, we don't mind getting the snacks." Maxwell said.

"Bijou's right, we'll go get the snacks for ya!" Hamtaro said enthusiastically.

"Are you, like, sure? 'Cause it really doesn't matter to us." Sandy said.

"No, no, they're right, it's your big night. We'll go get 'em." Boss said.

"Oui, you two go ahead." Bijou said, smiling.

Boss thought a bit_. Hey, maybe this is my chance to impress her by showing her what a gentleman I am!_ His eyes lit up as he spoke. "Hey, Bijou, why don't you go ahead too? I can get the snacks by myself!"

"Oh, Boss, how thoughtful!" Bijou said, her smile widening.

"Really, Boss? You'll go get the snacks for us?" Hamtaro said, smiling as well.

"Sure, it's no proble--" Boss's grin suddenly disappeared as his face began to look a little nervous. _Wait…Th-that would mean leaving Ha-Hamtaro and Bijou…seated next to each other…in the dark, where it's hard to see…_ A grin returned to Boss's face, but it looked a bit more nervous than pride-stricken. "Eh…heh hehehe! O-on second though, Hamtaro, y-you'd better come with me!" Boss stuttered, grabbing Hamtaro and heading towards the snack counter.

"Heke? Uh…Sure, Boss, but why?" Hamtaro asked.

"Err, um, because, uh, I…am gonna need help carryin' all the snacks!"

"O-okay, Boss-man."

Sandy, Maxwell, and Bijou blinked, and just stared awkwardly for a second as Hamtaro and Boss walked off. Then Bijou broke the silence by saying, "Well, shall we go?"

The three of them walked into the big screen room and huddled over to the fourth row. Meanwhile, in the back, Stan, who was still wearing the brown "disguise", fastened a bowtie onto himself. "Okay… First, to see where they're sitting." He squinted and looked around, seeing a few ham-hams, but had a hard time deciphering which ones were Sandy and Maxwell. _Man… This stupid darkness is making it really hard to see… Ugh, but I CAN'T let 'em slip away now! Everyone knows that the movie theater is one of the easiest places to make passes… and… Gahh, I just can't let that happen to Sandy! She's not ready!_

Meanwhile, the pre-preview slideshow played on the big screen, while Maxwell, Sandy, and Bijou engaged in some quiet conversation.

"I am so excited! I have never seen an American movie!" Bijou said. "What is the movie called again? I cannot remember the title very well, because I have never heard of it before."

"The movie's called Boss Almighty, but I don't have a clue what it's about. I hope it's good. Do you know what it's about, Maxy?" said Sandy.

"Oh, it looks great from what I've heard! See, it's about this ham who's having a tough time in life, and he feel's like nothing's going right for him. So he blames it all on--" Maxwell cut himself off and began sniffing a bit. "Say, do you girls smell…" He sniffed again, but then started coughing a bit loudly. "…cigarettes?" He said, as he began to cough some more.

"Heke?" Sandy said. "What are you talking abo--" Sure enough, Sandy was cut off by coughing as well. "Like, gross!" She said, as she coughed a bit louder.

Bijou looked a bit confused, but soon the cigarette fumes caused her to begin coughing too. "Oh, how putrid!" she moaned, continuing to cough.

"But where's it coming from? There's, like, no smoking allowed in the theater." Sandy pondered.

Maxwell turned around in his seat and saw the source of the cigarette smoke. "Um, girls?"

"What is it, Maxwell?" Bijou asked, turning around to face the same way. "Oh dear…"

Sandy turned around too and saw three big-looking ham-hams smoking cigarettes. "Like, totally disgusting. They're smoking and breaking the theater's rules!" she said.

"How unethical!" Maxwell said, a bit annoyed.

Sandy coughed again. "They're, like, gonna turn my lungs black!"

Bijou coughed as well. "They are going to turn my coat yellow!"

"Maxwell, do something!" they both said unanimously.

"Heke!" Maxwell said, a bit shocked.

"C'mon, Maxy, we won't be able to enjoy the movie if we can't breathe!" Sandy said.

"Maxwell, she is right. Something must be done about those rude boys!" Bijou said in agreement.

Maxwell sighed. "I can't make them stop…" He looked around, a bit nervous, knowing he was disappointing Sandy. Then, suddenly he saw a ham in a bowtie. "Hey, there's an usher over there! I'll just go and get him to take care of them for us." he said as he got up and walked over to Stan.

Stan sighed, not seeing Maxwell walking towards him. "Man, where the f--"

"Excuse me, sir!" Maxwell said, interrupting Stan's thinking out loud.

"He-heke! Er… ahem, what can I do for you?" Stan said, clearing his throat and deepening his voice. _There he is! Finally! But what does he want? And where the heke is Sandy!_

Hm, that's weird, this guy looks a lot like Frederico…Gah, focus, Maxwell, focus! "Uh, well, y'see, I, uh… I'm sitting over in that row over there… But there's a group of ham-hams who are smoking, and it's really bothering us. And, y'know, since smoking is against your rules, I think… it should be, um… taken care of. So, would y'mind helping us out?"

Stan was actually pretty happy that Maxwell had called on him for this task. _Oh man, he really thinks I'm an usher! Hah, yes! That means my disguise is working, and no one'll ever notice a thing!_ "Of course. Would you mind showing me where these smokers are sitting, please?" he said, being sure to mind his manners.

"Over here, this way," Maxwell said, walking down the theater aisle. He walked over to the three smokers and pointed. "Right here, sir, here they are." They looked over at him, each with dirty looks on their faces.

Stan saw how big they all were, and started to sweat. He swallowed hard, then slowly made his way over to them, while Maxwell made his way back to his seat.

"Is it, like, being taken care of?" Sandy asked.

"Yeah, that usher back there is taking care of it right now." he replied.

Sandy and Bijou turned around and looked at Stan and the smokers. Maxwell sighed and decided he might as well turn around too, just to see what was going on.

"You got somethin' to say to me, little man?" the ham-ham closest to Stan said.

"Uh, um, eh… Y-you know, smoking is against our rules, so, uh, I'm gonna have to ask you to--" Stan was cut off by one of them blowing smoke in his face. He coughed roughly.

"Ask me to what, buster?" the grey one asked, sticking the cigarette back in his mouth.

Stan coughed a bit more, then spoke up. "Uh, ask you to putt your cigarettes out and throw 'em away."

"And if we don't?" the black one said in a deep voice.

Stan cleared his voice and spoke a bit more deeply. "Then I'll have to ask you to leave the cinema."

The grey one stood up. "You gonna make me, buddy?"

Stan's ears folded back and he began to sweat. "Um, er, well, I, uh… I don't wanna f-fight, sir, I… I'm just tryin' to do my job."

The grey smoker just stood there, looking angrier every time Stan uttered a word. He let out a bit of a growl, and Stan swallowed hard.

Bijou, however, wasn't the least bit scared. She was actually more annoyed at the manners of the trio. _I cannot sit back and watch this anymore… I must teach those awful smokers their manners!_ She waved and called out, "Yoo-hoo!"

Stan's ears perked up and he looked over toward her. _W-what the--! Bijou? What's she doing here! …Though, she is lookin' awfully cute tonight…_Stan shook his head a bit and spoke. "Y-yes, can I help you, Ma'am?"

"Rudeness like that should not be tolerated, especially from characters such as them!" Bijou called, pointing to the rule breakers. She walked towards Stan and held up a fist. "Violence is not encouraged where I'm from, but if absolutely necessary, this may have to be handled physically! You tried to reason with these boys, but they would not listen. Now, you must teach them a lesson!"

"H-how would I do that?"

"You hit them for being smart with you! Do what the ushers back in France do! Use your flashlight!" she exclaimed.

"But I don't have a fla--"

Bijou cut Stan off and handed him a flashlight.

"Er…" Stan looked back at Bijou, who was smiling sweetly as if this were just her usual routine at the clubhouse, then decided to be a real man, while still playing his role as a brother. A grin stretched across his face. "Hmm, well since you asked so nicely… Alright, Gorgeous!" He held the flashlight up over his head…

"Hyah!"

He tapped it between the eyes of the grey smoker, making an almost inaudible thud-noise…

"AHHH!"

…And, surely enough, was greeted in return by a fist in his face, being sent flying out of the theater.

"Oh no… We gotta get outta here…" Maxwell moaned softly.

"Maxy, do something!" Sandy said, looking up at Maxwell.

"But I--" Maxwell stopped and knew that Sandy was counting on him. "A-alright…" He walked over to the grey-furred ham-ham and tapped him on the shoulder.

"Eh?" he grunted, turning around to see Maxwell.

Maxwell cleared his throat and spoke up. "Sir, I'm sorry for causing all this trouble. I should have just come to you myself instead of making such a ruckus."

He didn't look as if he cared a bit. He just snorted and kept a straight face.

"Erm… But you see, smoking is against the theater rules--"

"I smoke. You got a problem with it? Stay home!" he said, shoving Maxwell a bit.

Maxwell tripped back a bit, but stood back up. "But sir, you don't understand… You're not supposed to be smoking, not to mention it bothers the two girls I'm with, and--"

"Ohh, TWO girls, he? You some kinda player, buddy? Think that gives ya the right to tell me what to do?" the smoker continued, stomping towards Maxwell.

"W-well, y-you….No!" He put his hand on Sandy's shoulder and continued speaking. "She happens to be my girlfriend! The other is just a friend who happens to be seeing the same movie! Right girls?"

"Like, yeah!" Sandy said in a strong voice.

"Oui!" Bijou said, glaring at the smoker.

"Heh, well, since she's your girl, hows about I just, eh," he said, walking over to Bijou. "Have my ways with this lil' chick here?" He chuckled and snorted a bit more.

Bijou's eyes sparked with fury. Steam appeared to be flowing out of her ears, until she finally yelled "THAT IS IT! I HAVE HAD ENOUGH OF YOUR RUDE BEHAVIOR!" and picked up the flashlight, then smacked it across his face. He fell over, moaning in pain.

Bijou panted heavily. Maxwell and Sandy just stood there, awe-stricken, not knowing what to say. The other two smokers looked terrified and decided to make an exit.

"Bijou…" Sandy said, her jaw still low.

Bijou took a deep breath and said, "We had sent an usher, and he did not listen. Maxwell tried to talk to him, and he still did not listen. I never tolerated rudeness back in France, and I do not see why it should be tolerated here."

Maxwell and Sandy looked at each other awkwardly, then back at Bijou.

Bijou smiled sweetly. "Now then, let us get back to our seats!"

"Uh…" Sandy leaned over to Maxwell and whispered into his ear. "I, like, think we better go ahead and find somewhere else to continue our date, Maxy."

"Bijou, actually, I think we're gonna go ahead and skip the movie. We'll see you guys some other time, okay?" Maxwell said a bit sheepishly. Sandy just nodded to what he was saying.

"Oh? Well, alright, I hope you two have a good time." Bijou said.

"Thanks, Bijou, you too. Bye-Q!" Maxwell said as he waved, then took Sandy's hand and walked out the door.

Bijou sighed. The movie was about to start, so she sat down. Moments later, Hamtaro and Boss came and sat beside her, carrying a pile of treats.

"Here, Bijou! I thought ya might like this!" Hamtaro said, passing her the bag of popcorn.

"Oh dear, Hamtaro, I cannot eat this, it always gets stuck in my teeth!" Bijou said.

Hamtaro sweatdropped and looked a bit disappointed.

Boss chuckled and knew it was his time to shine. "Here ya go, Bijou!" he said proudly, handing her a box of bon-bons. "I know that these are from France, so I figured you'd love them!"

Bijou identified the box. "Oh yes, bon-bons from back home! I remember these…"

Boss was beaming, until she continued her sentence.

"…I never liked them much."

Boss faceplanted right onto the theater floor. He whimpered a bit as he struggled to get back up.

"Shh, Boss, it's starting!" Hamtaro said.

Meanwhile, Stan, who had landed in an alley (located so conveniently near the spot where Maxwell had parked), rubbed his head and stood up. "Ah, man… Geez…" He tore off the bowtie and threw it to the ground. "That's it, no more dress-up. From now on, I'm goin' in camouflage… ugh…" he moaned and walked over to the sidewalk Maxwell and Sandy were nearing, so he panicked and jumped into the trunk.

"I don't believe this… I just don't believe it! Everything we've tried to do has come out as a complete disaster!" Maxwell said, throwing his paws up in frustration.

"Hey, like, don't worry so much, Maxy. You're doing the best you can, and that's enough for me." Sandy said, tugging on one of his arms and smiling warmly. "You know, maybe we're going a bit too fancy. Let's try something more, like, traditional. We could go to the mall or something instead."

"Hmm… I guess so, but I dunno, shopping doesn't seem like much of a date thing, y'know?" he replied.

"There's more than shopping there, Maxy. I heard they have a really nice arcade, you know."

What is she thinking? I'm no good at video games! …But then again, it's not like things can get much worse… and there's nowhere else to go, really… I guess we may as well give it a shot. "Yeah… Alright, Sandy." he said, as he unlocked the car and climbed in.

As they drove down the road, Stan, in the back of the trunk, had been listening to their conversation. _The arcade, huh? Guess I better think of a way to blend in there without being suspicious…_


	4. Our Game of Love

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Hamtaro. Now that that's out of the way, I also don't own any Hamster X character who appears in this chapter, not to mention DDR and any other games mentioned here. I do own fast-pawed Rick, though.

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**Episode 4: Game of Love**

The place: Chinaome Forest-- A dense forest filled with magic and stained with the blood of many warriors. Each side, whether good or bad, has left it's mark in this forest. It is also home to Chinaome Village's residents, Shelby, Mistukai, Katy, and Tsuruko Shirai; and the evil Warrior's Guild, led by their leader Drakken. It is here that a battle that will decide the fate of the two warriors ready to engage in battle.

One warrior was a girl ham with blue fur and a long braid.. She wore a bandana around her head, and by her side was a dagger and a bow. The other was a boy ham with a magic sword, filled with power. He had silver-white fur, but the most distinguishing feature was his blue skin. Both of them pulled their weapons out, ready to fight.

"Are you ready?" The girl ham asked, getting into her stance. "Cause here I come!"

The boy ham just looked at her and pulled out his sword saying, "Heh. I can't wait to see how this ends."

After that remark, the two charged at each other. The girl ham was pretty fast, moving quickly to get an attack in with her dagger and moving back to shoot arrows at the boy ham. The boy ham was the better close range fighter, however. He blocked many of the girl ham's attacks and countered with his sword. If she was too far, he'd pull out a projectile attack and then charge at her again with furious attacks. After awhile, it seemed like they were down to their last breath. Neither one of them seemed to have too much stamina left; one attack would decide the fate of this battle. In a brilliant effort to win, the boy ham jumped in the air, ready to finish the girl ham. However, the girl ham simply shot him with an arrow in mid air. The boy ham fell in pain as he agonistically cried in defeat. The girl ham smiled victoriously.

Then a voice rang out saying "Kurica wins!"

"What? That was it! You're really pathetic." The girl ham said as she posed and gloated over her victory.

"Argh… DAMN IT!" Maxwell groaned as he banged his head on the arcade board. This was already the 50th time he had lost to Sandy, who was using Kurica. "I can never get these arcade games…"

"Aw, don't feel bad, Maxwell," Sandy said, reassuring her boy ham. "I mean, you nearly beat me this time. Let's go and play another game. Your choice." Sandy said, smiling.

"Alright, let's go." It was a busy day in the arcade. Many were hanging around, playing many of the available arcade games, such as Whack-a-Cat and Crow Hunting. Most of them were playing the new Hamster X arcade game, while others were playing the usual stuff, like shooting hoops. Maxwell, unfortunately, had trouble playing most of these games due to the fact that he had never been to an arcade until today. However Sandy seemed more of a pro at this. "You come here a lot, don't you Sandy?"

Sandy nodded. "My brother would always bring me here whenever we were bored. It's so much fun competing with ham-hams in here . I wonder which game we'll play next?" Maxwell smiled as she named several games from the top of her mind.

He kept thinking about the date. _I can't believe the last two places we were at turned out to be a total disaster. First the restaurant, then the movie. We hardly stayed for the movie at all. Those guys really ruined it for us, and I couldn't even do anything about it…I should've been more aggressive and tried to beat them. But you know…Bijou smacking them with the flashlight was really a surprise to us. Heh, I bet Hamtaro and Boss would've been pretty surprised too. But still…I'm glad that Sandy is having fun. It looks like everything is going well here in the arcade…even if I lost to her 50 times. Hopefully it stays that way. I wonder…will we ever… _Just as Maxwell continued his trance, he felt his thoughts interrupt by a tap on his shoulder.

"Maxwell? HELLO? Quit spacing out, already!" Sandy whined, trying to snap her boyfriend out of it.

"Heke? Oh, I'm so sorry, Sandy," Maxwell said apologetically. "I was just, uh…thinking about what we should do next here in the arcade!"

Sandy sighed and asked him, "Well, what are we gonna do now?"

"Ummmm…" Maxwell searched the immediate area for something they could do. Sandy obviously knew that he was thinking of something other than playing an arcade game. "Oh! Over there!" Maxwell pointed out a prize grabber machine filled with many trinkets, including stuffed dolls, sunflower seeds, and jewelry. "How about I win you something from the prize grabber machine, Sandy?" Maxwell asked, trying to cover himself.

Sandy simply shook her head and smiled sweetly as she replied, "Sure. How about getting me that stuffed ham-ham doll?" She pointed to a big stuffed hamster that resembled Maxwell, only without the book. "He looks like you, doesn't he?"

"Yeah, but he looks like he needs to go on a diet or something." Both of them giggled at Maxwell's comment. Then Maxwell put a token into the machine and put his paws on the joystick. "This won't take long," he thought aloud, as he carefully moved the claw with the controls in order to 'bag the ham-ham'.

Sandy's attention then shifted from the prize grabber machine, as she started to think again. _I wonder what was going through Maxwell's head. He must've been thinking about what happened earlier at the movie theater. He's probably thinking that this entire date has been nothing but a disaster. I hope he's not too worried about it, though… because despite all that, I'm having a great time! I wanted to smack those guys over the head when they were being mean to Maxwell and trying to flirt with Bijou! Good thing Bijou wound up the work for us. I was never expecting her to just beat them over the head with a flashlight. You go, Bijou! _Sandy giggled to herself again. _Maxwell should quit worrying. I'm having fun and even after all that, I'm happy just to be with him. What else could we do later? Maybe go to the ham-ham land carnival or maybe go shopping. Maybe we could even get into that Minihamuzu concert tonight! Well, whatever it is we wind up doing, there's one thing I want… I want our relationship to grow…and become much more than what we were before. And… _Sandy started thinking back to the lick she gave Maxwell after the restaurant incident. _…next time, we'll share a real kiss. That's for sure. Hmmmm…I wonder what Stan's doing, though? I heard about everyone's plans for today except for his. He's probably flirting with other girl hams or something. But I bet this date is gonna be…_

"Hey look, it's Maxwell! Hi Maxwell!"

"Ookweeeeee!"

"Ky-yaaaaah!" Maxwell, surprised by the sudden sound of familiar voices, accidently moved the joystick and pressed the button. The prize grabber claw instead left him with nothing to give to Sandy. Sandy finally snapped out of it and realized who was here.

"Pashmina! Penelope!" Sandy exclaimed as she hugged her two friends. "What are you two doing here?"

"Well, we're actually here waiting for Panda." Pashmina replied. "He said we could go out and do whatever we want today, and then he'd meet us at the arcades."

"Ookwee!" went Penelope.

Sandy decided to change the subject and asked, "Well how come he didn't go with you in the first place?"

"Oh, that's because--" However, Maxwell quickly shut his mouth remembering what Panda said. _Oh yeah, I forgot, it's top secret._

"Well what, Maxwell?" Sandy asked him. Maxwell didn't respond. Sandy just looked at him sternly and sighed. "Whatever…Did you get the plushie?" Sandy had that big shine in her eyes again, the one that would make Maxwell do anything for.

"W-well…" Maxwell hesitated for a minute, but decided to tell the truth. "…I didn't get it. I'm sorry, but when Pashmina and Penelope popped out, I accidentally moved the control stick and got nothing…B-but I can get it again!" It was too late though. When they turned around, they saw a guy already get the Maxwell-looking plushie and gave it to a kid.

"Here ya go, son.", the ham said as he gave his son the plushie.

"Thanks, Dad! Now I got a stupid ham-ham doll that I can blow up with the rest of my collection!" The child happily dragged the plushie and smacked anyone beside him, starting with Maxwell.

Maxwell did an anime-drop, feeling like this date could only get worse. _It's déja vu all over again… _However, Sandy got him back on his feet and patted the dirt off his fur, giving him a reassuring smile.

"Like, don't worry about that, Maxy. You did your best." Sandy said, then started walking toward another arcade machine.

Maxwell, however, felt **really** sorry for himself to let that kid get away with what should belong to Sandy. He felt her slipping away from him. _I can't believe I let a little kid get away with the plushie I was going to give to Sandy! No…what kind of boyfriend am I? To let all that happen in a restaurant…to let those guys pick on us so easily and rely on Bijou to get us out of it…_ Maxwell clenched his fist. He felt something within him, ready to be unleashed. He felt a burning passion in his heart. _I can't just let my pride go down like that and let Sandy get me out of it. If I don't… _Maxwell then put another token into the machine. _…what kind of boyham am I? _He put his paws on the joystick and got ready to choose another prize. _Here goes. C'mon…get lucky with this one…_

"Well Maxy, what do you wanna play next?" Sandy asked as she looked around for a good game to play. She looked back when there was no answer. "Maxwell?" Sandy pouted as there was still no reply. She turned around ready to give him a piece of her mind… "Hey, Maxwell, I'm talkin' to you! Quit ignoring m--" …only to find that he wasn't there. "Heke? Maxwell?"

"He was behind us earlier…" Pashmina reminded them.

"Ookwee?" Penelope looked around, but to no avail, he wasn't there.

Sandy started to worry about him. _Oh where could he be? I hope he's not getting upset over that plushie. He shouldn't drag himself like that. _Sandy then ran back to the prize grabber machine area.

"Sandy, wait up!" Pashmina then ran after her, along with Penelope. Sandy kept running, hoping to find Maxwell. _That idiot… If he does anything stupid, I'll pummel him! _Then…

"Hey Sandy!" Pashmina finally caught up to Sandy. "Sandy? What's wrong?" Sandy just stood there, frozen. "Hello, anyone in there, Sandy?" There was still no answer. "What did you see, Sand--" Pashmina was quickly answered when Penelope tugged on her scarf and pointed ahead. Pashmina looked ahead and saw a life sized (as in the size of hamsters) plushie coming their way. "Wow…" Then a tiny voice came from under the plushie.

"Hiya Sandy!" The girl hams jumped backed and shrieked. Pashmina and Penelope were obviously scared, thinking it was some kind of zombie. Sandy, however, knew exactly who it was.

"Maxwell?" Sandy moved closer to the doll. Under it was her cute boyham, doing his best to keep the large plushie up.

"Heh, who know I could get this lucky, eh?" Maxwell smiled as he could see Sandy smiling. "Well I got you something really good, didn't I?" Sandy just stood there in amazement. Maxwell could easily see the joy in her face. Then…she slapped him, inducing a small pain in his cheek. Maxwell groaned. "What the--! What was that for!"

"That was for running off without saying anything!" Sandy snapped back. Maxwell, Pashmina, and Penelope took a step back from Sandy. They'd never seen her do such a thing. Then Sandy walked up to Maxwell and gave him schmubby-wubby on his head, leaving all three of them confused. Sandy then gave him a reassuring smile. "And that's for the plushie." Maxwell couldn't help but smile. Both of them just laughed for awhile, glad for each other's happiness. Pashmina and Penelope smiled, they knew everything was alright after all.

After a few minutes, Pashmina decided to speak up. "Hey Sandy, can you and Maxwell head to the DDR section of the arcade? I want to see you play again."

"DDR?" Maxwell said with a puzzled look on his face.

"Dance Dance Revolution," Sandy began. "As the name implies, you basically dance to play. The object of the game is to perfectly hit all the arrows at the exact moment." It was obvious that Maxwell still couldn't get it with that puzzled look on his face. A large sweat drop appeared on Sandy's forehead as she shook her head. "It's better for you to see it in action than for me to explain it. C'mon, let's head over to the DDR section." They three of them nodded and headed to the DDR section of the arcade.

Meanwhile…

"So it looks like they're at the arcade this time." Stan said to himself as he walked in. He finally got himself out of the trunk and was now looking for Sandy and Maxwell again. But to no avail, they couldn't be found. Then Stan thought that maybe the arcade was harmless. _I don't think they'll do anything here… I mean, c'mon, there's so many ham-hams around here! Besides, no one in the right mind would do anything like that here in the arcade. _Just as he was about to hit the skateboarding games, he saw another couple…making out publicly…on a motorcycle game. Stan's eyes widened as the calmness from earlier faded. _I GOTTA FIND THEM AND FAST!_ Just then he heard familiar voices close by.

"Wow, that movie was pretty good, huh Bijou?" asked one of the three ham-hams. Stan knew who this voice belonged to. It was Boss.

"Oui, I agree. However…I thought that Boss was being mean to Sparkle when he was cheating on her in that one part…" Bijou answered. Boss did an anime drop as he heard her response. _…I liked that character…_

Bijou then turned to Hamtaro. "So, Hamtaro, did you like that movie?"

"I sure did!" Hamtaro responded with his usual smile. "I especially liked that part when Boss screwed up Stan's speech." All of them laughed for a bit, remembering that part of the movie. "But Bijou…did you have to take out those three ham-hams on our way here? I mean, the minute you saw them, you pulled out a flashlight and beat them up right in the middle of the theater!"

Bijou sighed. "You have no idea what happened earlier…" Boss remembered that part and said to himself: _Wow…Bijou can be scary sometimes… _Bijou then shook her head and decided to change the subject. "Hey, isn't the Dance Dance Revolution section around here?"

"Yeah." Boss replied. "I bet Sandy's showing off again over there." That's when several ham-hams bolted up from their games.

"SANDY'S HERE!" All of them soon rushed to the DDR section faster than a hamster eating jalapeno sunflower seeds. Hamtaro, Bijou, and Boss followed in pursuit. Stan, who was watching from, grinned mischievously. He had yet another plan. _If Sandy's over there, then so is Maxwell. I know just how I can get him away from her…but first I'll need to go incognito. Hmmmmmm… _He looked around until he found the perfect disguise. _Bingo._

"Wow, there sure are a lot of ham-hams in the DDR section." Sandy pointed out. She, Maxwell, Pashmina, and Penelope had finally gotten there, only to discover that every DDR machine had been taken. They all sighed, knowing full well that none of the ham-hams would be willing to sacrifice a machine so easily. Sandy, however, didn't feel like giving up just yet. "Don't worry. We'll get a machine. I'll just have to beat one of these dorks in DDR."

Maxwell's eyes widened. "Heke? But why? We could just wait until it's our turn."

Sandy shook her head. "Maxwell, you showed me that sometimes things can't just wait." Maxwell let out a 'heke?' before Sandy continued. "When you got me this really cool plushie, I was so grateful to have a boyham like you!" Maxwell blushed when Sandy told him that. "Now it's my turn." With that Sandy walked up to one of the machines and called out the one of the ham hams, who had just beaten many of his opponents.

"Hey you!" she called out in a rather ruffian tone.

The ham-ham turned around to see Sandy. "You talkin' to me?"

"Yeah, I'm talkin' to you!" Sandy shouted back. "Me and my boy ham want to play DDR right now, so could you please be considerate enough to get off?"

The boy ham just sneered at her. "Just who do you think you're talkin' to? I'm Fast-Pawed Rick, the best DDR player around here. You must have some guts to shout at me like that, little lady. How about we play DDR? If you win, you and your boyham can play. But if I win, you gotta ditch that boy ham of yours and go on a date with me."

Sandy grinned. Her eyes shined with a certain playfulness that Maxwell has never seen. "Alright then. Let's go."

Rick's companions, however, started to hesitate when they realized who Sandy was. "Hey Rick, you might wanna call this off. I mean, this girl's never lost a match!"

Rick smiled. "Ah…so she's more than I thought. This is gonna be good."

Sandy walked up to the machine and got herself ready. "It sure is."

"Go Sandy! Do your best!' Sandy turned around to see Maxwell cheering for her, giving her his full support. Sandy smiled back at him, feeling lucky to have a boyham like him. Pashmina and Penelope went along and cheered with him.

Sandy and Rick put their tokens in and got ready to choose a song. Before Rick could choose the song, Sandy stopped him. "Would you, like, mind if I changed something?"

"You aren't gonna do something to screw up my chances of winning, are ya?"

"Oh, of course not. I don't need to cheat to beat you." Sandy replied. Rick pouted and allowed her to change some options around. Sandy went ahead and changed some settings for herself. Rick thought nothing of it. _Heh…no matter what she does, she's never gonna beat me. I'm the best there is._

"Are you done?" Rick asked Sandy.

"Yup."

"Well, get ready to lose!" Rick went ahead and chose "Paranoia Evolution". Sandy shook her head and readied herself for the challenge.

"Wow. That's a pretty tough song to do." Pashmina pointed out.

"What do you mean?" Maxwell asked her.

"Well, 'Paranoia Evolution' is an incredibly difficult song that only experts can pass with a high grade." Pashmina explained. "I mean at times it's pretty fast and you have to hit so many arrows within a less than half a second. The amount of arrows are just so overwhelming and failing is too common with this song." Hearing Pashmina's explanation made Maxwell quiver. He didn't realize that DDR could be that tough. _I don't know if I can do this. I mean even if Sandy wins, I could screw up when she teaches me…and in front of all these ham-hams! I'll be a laughing stock and I might even put Sandy to shame…_

Pashmina saw the doubt in his face, so she placed a paw on his shoulder, trying to reassure him. "Don't worry, Maxwell. You've seen Sandy dance before, and you yourself admit that she's awesome at it. I've seen her play DDR before and whenever I watch her…it just gives me so much confidence in playing. Before I saw her, I didn't think I could play at all. But by watching her, it made me feel better, and now me and Penelope keep getting better at it every day! So don't think you can't do it, Maxwell. You'll know what I mean when you see her out there."

"Ookwee!" Penelope cheered, trying to make Maxwell feel better.

Maxwell smiled as he regained his confidence. "Thanks Pashmina. I'm sure by watching Sandy, I'll eventually learn how to be as good as her at DDR."

"That's the spirit, Maxwell!" Pashmina cheered him on. "Hey look, it's starting!" The three of them watched as Sandy and Rick started to play DDR.

Everyone then realized what Sandy changed in the options menu: the speed of the arrows. Sandy's arrows moved MUCH faster than Rick's, and yet she hit them all perfectly. Everyone was amazed at how well she moved as she nailed every arrow that came up. Rick, however, was getting 'greats', not 'perfects' like Sandy. Rick just couldn't keep up with her. From the way she moved to the speed of the arrows, everyone was left in awe, especially Maxwell. Maxwell couldn't believe his eyes. He'd never seen Sandy dance like that… ever. _Wow…she's so good. She makes it look so easy, too. She's really beating Rick… and without even breaking a sweat! _Soon, more ham-hams came to watch as Sandy and Rick battled it out. Hamtaro, Bijou, and Boss came just in time to see the very end. Rick, completely worn out, was now so disoriented and tired that he collapsed, right on the machine. No one seemed to notice though; everyone was cheering Sandy on as she finished the song with a AAA rating. Because Rick collapsed on the last part, he ended up with a C. Unfortunately for him, he was too tired to even notice it. His friends went ahead and dragged him out of there.

Then Sandy turned around and gave the crowd a peace sign. "Ta-dah!" Everyone cheered after yet another successful game from her.

Maxwell was a bit surprised that so many people knew her. "Wow…she grabs a lot of attention from these arcades."

"That is because everyone loves seeing her dance here!" said a voice coming from behind them.

"Hey, it's Bijou!" Pashmina exclaimed as she, Bijou, and Penelope hugged each other. "How have you been doing?"

"Oh, I have been doing pretty well." Bijou answered back happily. Then she started to sound a bit more serious. "…except for those rude ham-hams at the theater. We met them again on our way here, and…I guess I got a little carried away… Heh, heh…" She giggled nervously as she held up a broken flashlight. Maxwell, Sandy, Pashmina, and Penelope's eyes widened.

"A LITTLE carried away, Bijou?" Pashmina remarked.

"Ookwee…"

Bijou giggled nervously. "Well nevermind that. So, Sandy won another round, no?"

"Yup." Sandy said as she walked up to her ham-hams. "And now I'm gonna teach Maxwell how to play!"

Boss sighed. "I don't get how to play that game at all. How can you keep up with the amount of arrows that you have to press?"

"That's only because you always try to do 'Healing Vision' on Heavy," Sandy reminded him. "I told you it would be impossible to do on your first try." Boss tried to hide the embarrassment on his face. Then Sandy took Maxwell's paw. "C'mon, Maxy, I'll show you how to play." Maxwell smiled and followed her to the machine.

When everyone saw Maxwell board the machine, many of them scoffed at the idea. "Pssht! That guy? He's nothin' but a beginner! There's no way he'll ever be as good as Sandy! He may as well burn his paws off now rather than have 'em get burned off by trying to play the game."

Hearing all this really started to piss Sandy off. She hated anyone saying bad things about her boyham. "I'm gonna burn YOUR paws if you keep trash-talkin' my Maxy like that!" Everyone quieted down, not wanting to face the wrath of the DDR mistress. But there were a few exchanged glances, each and every one of them thinking the same thing-- that Maxwell and Sandy were wasting their time. Sandy turned back to Maxwell. "Are you ready, Maxwell?"

"Well, I guess so…but are you sure this is alright? I mean, they don't seem to wanna let me play very much." Maxwell said pointed to the crowd.

"Oh, don't pay any attention to them, Maxwell. If all you worry about is impressing the crowds, then you'll, like, throw off your concentration, and make it harder for yourself. And besides, if they make any comments, I'll shove 'em onto the machine in the middle of 'Paranoia Evolution'!" Sandy said. Maxwell's eyes widened. _Wow…I didn't know she was THIS tough…_

Sandy then decided to choose a song. "How about we make it simple and start with 'Butterfly' on beginner?"

"Um…whatever works for you, Sandy." Maxwell replied back. Sandy went ahead and chose beginner's mode and selected the song 'Butterfly'. Maxwell then saw a little tutorial on the game. _Alright. You just keep your feet in the middle and extend to whatever arrow is on the screen. I think I got it. _Unfortunately for him, Sandy was explaining the game while he was reading the instructions, and he hadn't been listening to her.

"…and then you just--Hey, are you listening to me!" Sandy said.

"Of course I am! I'm good to go." Maxwell smiled at Sandy. Sandy just sighed, figuring that he didn't listen at all. _I hope he gets a good grade on this…_

And so the game started. And… well, Maxwell was doing horribly. Trying to follow the directions he had read on the screen, he kept his feet in the middle, only extending them when an arrow reached the top. But this made it harder for him to react to the next several arrows. In the end, his final score was a D. Large sweat drops appeared on all of the ham-hams' heads, while everyone else just burst into laughter. Then, all of a sudden, several groups of hamsters were being choked together…by a ribbon?

Sandy, furious with the crowd, was now choking them with her ribbon. "Either stop laughing or stop breathing! Your choice!" Everyone then backed away from Sandy, who had already had enough of the crowd for one day.

"I'm so sorry, Sandy…" Maxwell said apologetically to his furious girl ham.

"And you!" Sandy faced Maxwell. "I told you to listen to ME, not the tutorial!" Maxwell looked puzzled. He obviously thought that the tutorial was teaching the easiest way to play, but it really wasn't. Maxwell said nothing, hoping that Sandy would cool off a bit. After awhile, Sandy grinned and went behind him. "Here, let me try and show you how to play." She chose 'Butterfly' again, and when they were playing, she helped Maxwell with his movements. Maxwell blushed in embarrassment as Sandy taught Maxwell almost as if he was a baby. "I told you to listen, you idiot. When you play DDR, you play as if you're dancing. You have to listen to the rhythm and move to the beat. Trying to stay in one spot won't help you at all." Sandy continued to help out him throughout the entire song. Maxwell ignored the fact that he was being taught like a toddler, he liked how Sandy kept holding him throughout the entire song.

ai-ai-ai am your little butterfly.

Green, black, and blue makin' colors in the sky.

ai-ai-ai am your little butterfly.

Green, black, and blue makin' colors in the sky.

ai-ai-ai

ai-ai-ai

ai-ai-ai

Where's my samurai?

The song had finally finished, and with Sandy's help, Maxwell got an A on the song. Sandy smiled, looking at the grade he got. "Looks like you're getting better, dunce."

Maxwell was pretty happy too. "Yeah its looks like…did you just call me a dunce?"

Sandy giggled. "Oh, c'mon Maxy, I was just joking." They all laughed at her remark. "Let's, like, try a few more songs."

"Okay, I think I'm getting it now!" Maxwell replied. Sandy smiled as they chose the next few songs, some of which included Cartoon Heroes, Sobakasu (the DDR remix of the RK theme), and Candy, which they nailed perfectly with AAAs. The two dazzled the ham hams as they did it together. Soon the crowd started to cheer them on again. Just as Maxwell said, he was getting better…and faster than they expected him to. By the time they were doing "Paranoia Evolution" on Heavy, Maxwell got an AA on it. Of course, the speed wasn't changed for him. He wasn't ready for it.

Sandy was now really happy for him. _I just knew he could do it! I mean, he's, like, really getting better, and progressing faster than anyone I've ever seen! I'm glad that he's having fun playing too. It looks like going to the arcade was a totally cool idea after all. _Sandy then turned her attention to the game, ready to choose another song.

Maxwell was also so happy to be playing DDR with Sandy. _Wow…this game really is fun. And I'm learning faster than expected. Doing Paranoia Evolution on Heavy…I didn't think I could do any of this! But what really matters is that Sandy is happy. It looks like this date is getting better after all. I can't wait to see what happens next!_

It was then that Sandy interrupted his train of thought. "Hey Maxwell, which song do you wanna do next?"

"Hmm, let's see…" Maxwell took the time to browse through the list of song again.

"Not so fast you two!" Everyone turned their attention to the back as a strange ham-ham passed through. No one knew who he was, for his entire body was covered by the big trench coat he was wearing.

"Do you know who he is?" Pashmina asked the ham-hams.

"I've seen him before." Boss replied. "But his voice does sound familiar…"

"Oui, he must be someone we have seen before." Bijou added.

"But who have we seen with a trench coat before other than Boss?" Hamtaro pondered. The only thing that the ham-hams knew was that his presence felt very familiar. Though the crowd didn't seem to mind; actually, a couple of girl hams thought that the mysterious ham-ham was pretty cute. The trench coated ham-ham grinned. _Maybe after my victory, I can score with one-a these girl hams. Guess they really dig the mysterious-trench-coat look! _It was now pretty obvious; the ham-ham was none other than Stan.

Stan walked up to the machine, glaring at Maxwell. "You seem pretty confident of your DDR skills. How about some competition?"

Maxwell started to hesitate. After all, it was only his first time and the only one who he really wanted to play with was Sandy. "Well…I don't know…"

"C'mon, are you gonna let her take up the challenge instead?" Stan said, pointing to Sandy, who was now really furious.

"Look, pal, I dunno who you think you are, but if you keep talkin' to my boyham like that, I'm gonna--" Maxwell cut Sandy off. "Heke? What is it, Maxwell?"

"He's right. I should at least take up a challenge from him." Maxwell turned to Sandy. "And I can't keep letting you take on my own challenges."

It was then that Sandy realized it. "So that's why you did all that to get me that plushie." Maxwell nodded. Sandy gave him a reassuring smile. "Alright then. Go and kick that guy's butt!" Maxwell smiled as Sandy got off the machine.

Stan grinned as Maxwell turned his attention to Sandy, as she kept cheering him along with the rest of the ham-hams. _Now that I got his attention away from me… _He then chose a song and then changed some of their settings. He grinned through every move he made. _If I do this, then Maxwell will feel sorry for himself and won't even think about going that far. I don't want to break up this couple, or take away Maxwell's pride, but… I gotta take care of Sandy! I'm her only family left!_

Sandy noticed something weird and looked to the machine to realize what they were doing. The trench coat ham-ham had chosen the song 'Sakura' on Heavy mode with a speed of x8, the fastest you can go. _What! No way! Doing that song with all those settings… that's just too much for Maxy to handle! It's most difficult song of them all! _(A/N: I at least think so. For some of you it may be Paranoia Evolution or any other song. To me it's Sakura). _The song, no matter how fast you put it, goes at varying speeds. It'll throw you off if you don't get it right, and the amount of arrows are overwhelming! And that one part where the arrows start moving incredibly fast… Putting it on x8 speed is gonna make it even worse! The only one's who've passed it with high grades is me _(AAA) _and Stan _(AA)! _If this guy is as good as he says he is, then Maxwell is in big trouble… _Sandy was about to say something, but then she felt someone's paw on her shoulder.

"Don't. Doing so may hurt his pride if you say that in front of everyone." said a voice from behind her. The ham-hams turned around to see…

"Panda!" Everyone was glad to see that Panda finally made it. Panda turned to Sandy.

"I know that song is very difficult…but don't you think that Maxwell's learned a lot for his first time?" Panda asked her. "I mean, he's already getting high grades on heavy. Have a little faith in him."

Sandy sighed. "I know you're right. I should have faith in him. I just don't want him to lose here. If everyone laughs at him for losing, he could end up losing pride that way."

"I know." Panda then got out a bag. "That's why I have this."

Pashmina then moved closer to Panda. "So is this what you and Dexter have been working on for the past month?"

"Yep!" Panda smiled with glee.

"Wow, you made a bag!" Hamtaro exclaimed. Everyone else did an anime drop.

"No, you silly Hamtaro." Bijou told him. "It is what's IN the bag!"

"Yeah. And here it is." Panda then pull out what looked like a small ham-ham chip and an unholy combination of a PS2, Xbox, and Gamecube controller. Everyone had a puzzled look on their face, not knowing what it was supposed to be.

"Well, what is it?" Pashmina asked.

"It's a controlling machine!" Panda exclaimed. "You chuck this chip at anyone you want to control, and then you control their movements with this controller." Panda held up the controller. "With this baby, you could do things that a ham-ham could never possibly do. Watch." He then threw the chip at Penelope and pressed a button. "Hey Penelope, do you feel anything different?"

Penelope was checked herself and simply replied, "I don't think so…" They all gasped. Penelope was talking!

"I can't believe it, Penelope's actually talking!" said a familiar ham-ham with a green cap coming by.

"Oh, hey Cappy." Penelope greeted him. "What happened? You were supposed to be here earlier."

"Well, Kip and Sue took too long to get out of the house. Sorry Penelope." Cappy said apologetically. "So this is the thing you built?"

"Yup." Panda removed the clip again and Penelope was back to saying "ookwee" again. "So what do you think, Sandy?"

"Wait… you're allowing me to use this on Maxwell?"

"Of course." Panda replied. "I can't have him losing here." Panda tossed the chip onto Maxwell and gave the controller to Sandy. "Good luck!"

"Thanks Panda." Sandy got her paws ready on the controller. _I've only done DDR on the controller once... I hope I can do this._

After a few more seconds, the game started. Stan and Maxwell began stomping as the arrows came at them rapidly, not even giving them a second to pause. _Wow…it's moving faster than I thought… _Maxwell thought to himself, panting heavily. _I'm just glad I can keep up. _The two kept moving to the beat, hitting every arrow with a 'Perfect', as the speakers pumped the music loudly and the lights flashed brightly on-and-off. Sandy, who was controlling Maxwell, recognized the next part. _Alright…this is gonna be tricky… _The song was now slowing to a temporary stop, and so were the arrows. Luckily, Maxwell was able to get this part. Stan, of course, was also able to hit it.

Sandy smiled, glad to help her boyfriend out. Without turning her eyes away from the game, she said to Panda, "Thanks Panda. This new machine of yours is working perfectly."

"Aw, shucks, I--" Then Panda realized something in his paws. He quickly turned to Sandy. "Sandy, you gotta see this!"

"Later, Panda. I, like, need to stay focused." Sandy said back to him.

"But…"

"I'm totally busy right now, Panda!" Sandy said as she continued to press the buttons on the controller. It was already coming down to the final part of Sakura. So far, both Maxwell and Stan were tied, hitting every move perfectly, both of them feeling sweat form and drip down their faces. The song started to slow down again, and a final pair of arrows appeared. Both of them hit the arrows and nailed the song. The only thing is…Maxwell got a 'perfect' when he hit the double arrows…while Stan got a 'good'. Stan couldn't believe that he could screw up his combo at the end, which was where he usually shined in Sakura. The scores were tallied up and the grades were given: Maxwell got a AAA while Stan ended with a AA. Everyone was now cheering Maxwell on as Stan slowly moved away from the machine, sulking in his defeat to Maxwell.

Sandy ran up to Maxwell and hugged him tightly. "Oh I'm, like, so proud of you, Maxy!"

Maxwell smiled. "Well I couldn't have done it without you, Sandy. Using Panda's new invention really did help." Everyone was surprised…Maxwell knew! "Of course I knew! The minute I felt that chip hit me in the back, I realized from seeing Panda's invention earlier, that it was indeed his controlling machine. You didn't think I'd know, did you?" Everyone laughed, they were so happy that Maxwell and Sandy were having a good time.

"Boy, I wanna play DDR sometime! It looks like fun!" Hamtaro exclaimed.

Bijou smiled at Hamtaro. "Oui, I would bet you would be magnifíque! Perhaps even as good as Maxwell!"

Boss cringed when he heard this. He quickly went to Bijou's side and said, "Oh didn't you know? I'm gonna start playing again too! I know I'll get better!"

"Yeah. Just don't chose a song you can't do again, Boss." Cappy said to the older ham-ham. Boss cringed again and they all laughed. _I wonder if I could borrow Panda's controlling machine. Penelope did sound pretty cute! _Cappy thought as he blushed.

"I'm so glad you finally made it, Panda!" Pashmina exclaimed with a shine in her eyes. Panda blushed a little when he heard that, making the other three girl hams giggle.

"Oh, sorry Panda. I, like, totally forgot, you were gonna say something weren't you?" Sandy said, turning to Panda. Panda was frozen. "Um, hello? Like, earth to Panda, do you read?" she continued, waving a paw in front of his face.

"Well…uh…" Panda started hesitantly. "…when I looked into my paw…" He held out his paw to reveal a small, black object. "…I had the batteries in my paws the whole time."

"WHAT!" Everyone said in unison. It was obvious now.

"Then…that means…" Sandy turned to Maxwell and so did everyone else, eyes wide. It was obvious that Maxwell got that AAA…all on his own. Everyone was so shocked that he did all that with no help. Sandy would've fainted by now…if Maxwell hadn't fainted first.

Maxwell laid on the floor, all swirly-eyed. "…I…did it…I really did it…"

After awhile, Sandy picked him off the floor. "C'mon now, get up. Don't be so dramatic over it." Sandy then gave Maxwell a kiss on his cheek. "I'm so proud of you, Maxwell." She blushed and smiled at him.

Maxwell couldn't help but smile back. "Thanks Sandy. Hey, how about we do one more song, Sandy? We've still got time."

Sandy nodded. "Yeah. Let's do one more before we leave." They both got back on the DDR machine and got ready to choose another song. "Umm…you wouldn't mind if I changed…"

"Of course I wouldn't mind, Sandy." Maxwell said to Sandy, knowing full well what she was going to say. "In fact, I'm going to change my options to x8"

Sandy giggled. "Like, actually, I was going to change my option to x1."

"Heke?"

"See, the next song I'm choosing is, like, better done slow than fast. At least that's what I think." Sandy told him. "It's a totally cool song to do after that rush from Sakura."

Maxwell nodded. "Alright. I'll change my settings to speed x1 too." Both of them smiled as the song played. The song they were doing was "Ever Snow".

Ever Snow-

konna ni suki na kimochi ga afureru... (The feelings I love like this are overflowing…)

kanashii hodo soba ni itakute demo

kimi no senaka kasunde yuku yo doko e mukau no? (I want to be with you even if I'm sad. Your back is becoming hazy, where are you headed?

kuchibiru ni itoshisa o kanjiru tabi ni

shinjiteta kimi ga iru koto... (When I felt love on my lips, I believed, that you are here…)

hakanaku maichiru yuki o miteita

saigo no keshiki ha shiroku setsunakute... (I watched the fleeting, dispersing snow. The last view was white and oppressive…)

koueta yubisaki nido to kimi ha todokeba

futari no ashi ato nokorazu kieteku... (If these frozen fingertips can reach you once more. Our footprints will disappear as if never left behind…)

When the song was over, the two of them left the arcade, paw in paw, leaving behind their grades for 'Ever Snow': both AAAs.

Later, Panda was installing a cart behind the convertible he lent to Maxwell. "Hey you two." Panda said to them. "I'm just putting this cart up so we can all go to the next destination together."

"Alright then." Maxwell said as the two got in the car. "Where are we going this time, Sandy?"

Sandy made the chair recline so she could lie down before she answered Maxwell. "Well since everyone's going to the carnival, maybe we should go too."

Maxwell nodded. "Then, to the carnival it is!" Maxwell hit the acceleration pedal and they headed for the carnival with all the other ham-hams in the back.

Sandy sighed. "I just hope you don't read in the carnival for the whole day like last time."

"You still remember that!" Maxwell exclaimed.

"How can I not remember? You almost totally ruined our day by doing, like, nothing but reading!"

"But it was such a good book…" Maxwell whined.

"Ugh…" Sandy sighed.

Maxwell laughed to himself. "Don't worry, I won't do it this time. I promise."

Sandy smiled. "Alright…but if you do that again, I'm gonna, like, sick Bijou on you with a flashlight." A large sweat drop appeared on Maxwell's forehead. _Man, is she tough…_

Meanwhile…

"Damn…they've already left!" Stan was, once again, looking all over for Sandy and Maxwell. "I wonder where they went…" Then a truck passed by with a logo that said "Ham-Ham carnival". _Of course, the ham-ham carnival! Everyone did say they were going to the fair today… Looks like I'm goin' too. _With that, Stan jumped onto the truck, thinking of the next plan to stop the couple…


	5. Romantic Ride, Sandy and Maxwell's Momen...

Author's notes: For now I'm not going to put up the usual RP in the author's notes. I've ran out of ideas for that. I'll try to do them on later chapters. Anyway it's about time I actually start wrapping up this fic. I have only three/four chapters left to do and I wanna get started on it cuz I haven't posted anything in awhile and I've got so many other fics I wanna do. I apologize for making this too long, but a lot of effort into this so please be considerate.

Anyway it's about time I get started with this chapter. In this chapter, Sandy and Maxwell go to the ham ham carnival and Stan takes another shot at stopping the date. Will Sandy and Maxwell have another good time like at the arcade or will it be even worse than the movies or the restaurant?

Disclaimer: I do not own Hamtaro. If I did then maybe I shouldn't be sticking to fics, right? The big gang like ham hams really belong to ravens, but Lemon Bagwell, in the extras, belongs to me. Also note that this is that the Ham Ham Carnival is the same fun park in the Ham Ham Heartbreak game, and therefore will be mentioning parts from the game, including the characters Spat and Harmony.

**

* * *

****Chapter 5: Romantic Ride, Sandy and Maxwell's moment of truth**

Stan…

"Hm?"

Stan can you hear me…?

"Who are you? What do you want?"

Don't tell me you've forgotten me…?

…or…

…your promise?

A figure in the shadows soon appears before Stan and starts to leave. Stan's eyes begin to widen as he realizes who it is.

"No! Wait!"

Stan…have you forgotten the promise you made to me?

The one about your sister?

"Please don't leave!"

You promised to…

"MOM!"

…

"Ow…where am…?" Stan rubbed his head until he realized he was still on top of the truck. _That's right…I'm headed to the carnival. It's a good thing the truck hasn't passed it yet._ Stan continued to think about what happened in his dream. _Do I even know what I'm doing anymore? Sandy's got a good boyham. I don't want to ruin what she has now… But…this is what Mom would want, right? I bet she wouldn't trust any boyham with Sandy. That's why I'm doing this… to fulfill the promise I made to Mom. To make sure that Sandy is always safe and protect her, no matter what. I'm sorry Sandy… _And with a determined look on his face, Stan waited to depart for the Ham-Ham Carnival.

"Heke!" Sandy bolted up from her sleep.

"Are you alright, Sandy?" Sandy looked to her side to see Maxwell driving the car. It had been awhile since they'd started their date. Their last stop was the arcade, where Sandy and Maxwell played DDR and won a lot of respect due to their performance.

"I'm fine, really…" Sandy told him.

"I'm your boyham," Maxwell reassured her. "You can tell me anything."

"Well…okay, but only if you promise to continue to pay attention to the road."

"I will." Maxwell laughed nervously.

"Promise?"

"Promise."

"Well, okay…" Sandy took a deep breath. "I had a dream. It was a dream of my mother before Stan and I left her. It was so long ago…"

"I'm sure you'll see her again, Sandy." Maxwell told her.

"No I won't… because after that day…she was gone. And now she's looking down on us from the sky."

"Wow! That's amazing!"

"Really?"

"Yeah! Most ham-hams can't fly. I wonder if she's met Francois." Sandy slightly giggled. "What's so funny?"

"You idiot…"

"Heke?"

Sandy sighed again. "She's dead. She died trying to protect me and my brother…" Then she felt a warm paw on her shoulders. She turned to see her boyham extending his paw.

"Don't worry about it. I'm sure you're mom's proud of you. After all, she does have a kind and beautiful daughter who continues to live for the happiness of others." Maxwell smiled.

"Maxwell…" Sandy blushed and smiled too. "I know, my mom will always be proud of me…but that's not what I'm thinking of. You see…before her death, she promised Stan something."

"Can you remember what it was?"

"Nope, I was asleep…" Sandy giggled as Maxwell had another sweat drop on his forehead. "But really…I do remember her saying something. Before that, Stan would always compete against me and would always be annoying for he always arrogant and saying that he was the best out of the both of us…but after that day, Stan changed. Though his flirtatious attitude and arrogance stayed, he would always try to take care of me, and would always try to make me happy…until the day we were separated. I know that we are twins, but he acts more of an older brother to me, sometimes I want to even call him 'onii-chan (older brother in Japanese for those who don't know)'. Which is why I was so glad that you guys found him. Thank you Maxwell"

Maxwell smiled and blushed. "Well I…"

"Maxwell watch out!" Soon Sandy paws grabbed the wheel and turned the car to the ride to avoid a speeding car. "I thought I told you to pay attention!"

"I'm sorry Sandy…" Maxwell said apologetically. "I just wanted to make you feel happy and…" Then it was Sandy's paw that touched Maxwell's paw.

"Don't worry about that." Sandy told her boy ham as she smiled. "You've already made me happy."

"Heke?"

"You took me on this date and put all your heart into everything…no matter how things turned out. And even if something bad were to happen, we'd always have fun no matter what. Whether it was restaurant or movies, we had a great time." Sandy giggled again. "And of course the arcade. You were able to take down that ham ham with nothing but us cheering on and beat him. So don't worry about it alright."

"Sandy…" Maxwell blushed and smiled. "Alright! I will!" Maxwell then turned his attention to the road. "Look, we're here!"

"Oh I can't wait to get out there again!"

The car finally came to a halt in front of the Ham-Ham Carnival. The Ham-Ham Carnival was nearly twice the size of the ham-ham fun park near the clubhouse. There were so many rides and attractions seen from the front, but there was so much more inside. All Maxwell and Sandy knew was that this may turn out to be good in the end.

"You're excited, aren't you Sandy?" Maxwell asked. "It looks like so much fun from here."

"And I bet it's even more fun inside! I can't wait…" Then Sandy's hyper voice turned into a more serious tone. "…but Maxwell…if you read again during the carnival I'll make sure you regret ever opening a book…got it?"

"Heh, don't worry Sandy. I won't do it again, I promise." Maxwell laughed nervously. They then turned to the back and opened the cart. Before leaving the arcade, Panda installed a cart so that the other ham-hams could ride with them (I.e. Hamtaro, Bijou, Boss, Pashmina, Penelope, and Cappy). "Alright everyone, we're--heke?" However they were all sleeping. Both Sandy and Maxwell giggled and nodded to each other. And then…

"Wake up!"

All the ham-hams bolted from their sleep and Sandy and Maxwell were laughing…until Boss gripped his paw on Maxwell neck.

"The hell did you do that for!" Boss yelled threateningly.

"Calm down Boss. We're here aren't we?" Hamtaro told him. Boss just laid Maxwell down. That was when Sandy noticed something. _Hmm…Maxwell usually doesn't joke around or trick people like that. Maybe he's getting more confident. Oh, I'm so happy for him!_

After a few laughs, they found themselves inside one of the biggest places they'd ever seen.

"Wow! This place looks a lot bigger than we last saw it, right Bijou?" Hamtaro asked.

"Oui. There are many places I have not seen before. More rides, more places…" Bijou as well as the others continued to look around happily at all the new things as they walked around.

"It must've been that incident from that last time." Maxwell added. "If I remember, you two drove out that evil ham-ham…what's his name?"

"Spat?"

"Oh yeah! I read in the paper that after that incident, the Ham-Ham Carnival would go under some heavy renovations." Maxwell told them.

"You guys got him good." Pashmina told Hamtaro and Bijou. "You two make a great team!"

"Ookwee!" Squeaked Penelope.

"Heke?"

"Oh stop it, Pashmina! You are making my face all red!" Bijou said hiding her face in embarrassment, while Hamtaro put his usual puzzled look on his face.

Boss sneered at Hamtaro and sighed. "You guys beat him alright, but I bet if I was with you we would've beaten Spat easily. Heck, I bet I could've taken him on by myself!"

"But Boss, you've never seen him. I mean, he has a big fork with him." Cappy added.

"Either way I'd rather not have that creep back…" Panda added. "I mean…he BROKE my BRIDGE!"

"Alright, so what are we gonna do first?" Boss asked as he turned to the other ham-hams. Soon he heard two stomachs growling.

"Oh…can we please eat first…" Maxwell's growling stomach indicated his hunger.

Sandy giggled. "Yeah, we didn't have anything since this morning."

"Hey didn't you two go to a restaurant earlier today?" Panda asked the two.

Soon the ham-hams found themselves eating at a nearby stand. As they gobbled up their sunflower seeds, Bijou, Pashmina, and Penelope motioned for Sandy to come with them. Sandy was a little puzzled by the sudden leave, but followed nonetheless. The other boy hams were also puzzled.

"Hey, where do you think they're going?" Hamtaro asked, finally breaking the silence.

"Oh you know those girl hams. They always gossip…" Boss said as he stuffed another sunflower seed in his mouth.

"Hmmm…I wonder what they're up to…" Maxwell said with a puzzled face.

Bijou, Pashmina, and Penelope just stood there right next to Sandy, who was calmly eating her sunflower seeds.

"C'mon girls, I'll lose my appetite if you keep giving me those weird stares." Sandy chuckled jokingly.

"How can we not stare? Your date has been wreck up until the arcade!" Pashmina said, finally breaking the silence. "You end up at a nice restaurant…at the back where there is no light! Then wait a looong time for your food while witnessing another couple arguing! And then, of all things, get your fur dirty from a food fight!"

"Oui! Pashmina is right!" Bijou sprang up, continuing the rant. "You also end up in the theater without being able to watch a movie and got in trouble with those bad ham-hams over at the movies!"

"Ookwee…?"

"Oh, Penelope…a food fight is only fun if you're NOT on a date!" Pashmina reminded her.

"But she's right." Sandy interjected. Bijou and Pashmina turned to Sandy again. "While a date may be like candle lit dinner and a movie, the most important thing is to have fun with it, and I think I'm having the greatest fun of my life. I know what you mean…there shouldn't have been a food fight at that restaurant or thugs in the theater…and I keep thinking about it. But the reason for having the date in the first place is to spend time with the boy I love. Despite everything, Maxwell did his very best to make this day the best day ever. No matter how bad it turned out, Maxwell was always there to cheer me up and when he was upset over the date, I would cheer him up too. And look what happened at the arcades, that had to be the best part yet. Seeing Maxwell cream that guy was more than enough to make me happy. Isn't that what a date is for? Making both the boy and girl happy?"

"Sandy…"

"Ookwee!" Penelope squeaked again.

Pashmina smiled and patted her on the head. "I guess you two are right. After all, dates are meant to be fun."

"Oh, that was so beautiful, Sandy!" Bijou said, her eyes shining. "Please tell me you two kissed."

Sandy suddenly blushed a bright red. "Well…oh this is, like, so embarrassing."

"Oh, so you two did kiss each other?" Pashmina teased Sandy.

"Well…no…" Sandy chuckled. "I just licked his cheek."

"Heke…?"

Sandy chuckled. "There was some food left on him after the food fight so I licked off. But I bet he was expecting a kiss." She sighed deeply. "But I guess that's as close as I can get to a real kiss."

"Sandy…" Sandy turned around to see Pashmina, Bijou, and Penelope with some weird glares on their faces. "…You have to get him to kiss you today! You _have _to!"

"HEKE!"

"Well, I'm stuffed." Maxwell said as he got up. "We'd better find the girl hams now."

"Hey, hold up, Maxwell!" Boss said. "Lemme give you some words of advice: if you're planning to go all mushy on Sandy, make sure Stan is NOT there!"

"Heke? How come? Stan is her brother."

"…you're just as hopeless as Hamtaro…" Boss smacked his forehead.

"Someone say my name?" Hamtaro perked up.

Boss sighed. "Anyway it's about time we got the girl hams…" When Maxwell and Hamtaro were gone, Boss turned around to Panda. "Hey Panda?"

"Yeah Boss?"

"How come we can't let Stan see Maxwell and Sandy being cuddly?"

"Don't ask me. You're the one who thought of it." Panda replied back.

"Hmmmm. I guess there'd be nothing wrong if Stan were to see them being affectionate. I mean he tries to do it all the time, right? You agree with me, right Cappy?"

However, Cappy wasn't listening. He was busy going over how he would get a certain someone to go with him. "Let's try this: 'um…would you like to go on the ferris wheel with me P--"

"Stop daydreaming about Penelope and listen to me!"

"S-sorry!"

"So where should we start?" Hamtaro asked the entire group as they passed through several attractions. As expected, there were many rides, shows, and games around the place, but this time it was more lively, just as everyone said. Ever since Spat's defeat, the Ham-Ham Carnival became an even more attractive place for kids, family, and-- of course-- couples, to hang around.

"It's great to see everything back to normal around here." Bijou said, relieved that Spat was gone. She then turned to Hamtaro and said, "Aren't Howdy and Dexter playing the Ham-Ham Ranger show?"

"I hope those guys don't mess up the show…" Boss exasperated. "You know how those two are." Everyone knew what Boss meant, remembering the last time they were in a play together:

_Unhand Princess Pashmina, you cad!_

_Never! Pashy's mine! ...and what th' hell is cad?_

_Sorry, but I'm afraid your brain would explode from too much information._

_That's it! Take that, four eyes!_

_Get offa you brute!_

That memory just left a sour image in their mind as large sweat drops appeared on their heads.

"I don't think the Ham-Ham Rangers Live Show is starting for another hour. I know! How about we kill some time and go on some rides or play games?" Maxwell suggested.

"Good idea, Maxwell!" Sandy exclaimed. "There was this one ride I wanted to show you last time, but you were too busy reading your book."

Boss chuckled as a glint came from his eyes, signaling that he had an idea. _Maybe if we split up… _"Hey, maybe we can kinda split up for awhile? You know…so we can go to all the rides and games want to go to."

"It sounds great and all Boss." Panda replied. "But we're supposed to go see Howdy and Dexter at the Ham-Ham Rangers Show."

"Not a problem. It's in an hour right? We'll just get there in less than an hour, then go in. I think we can all get there in time, right?" All the ham-hams looked at each other for a minute and then nodded. "Now that we have that settled, let's choose our groups." As soon as he finished, Boss ran up to Bijou as fast he could. "Hey Bijou I was wondering…um…well…I…er…"

"Hm?"

C'mon Boss, snap out of it. You're on a roll today. Boss took another deep breath. "I was wondering if you would like to go around the carnival with me."

Bijou giggled before giving her reply. "Of course, you silly ham-ham."

"Really?"

"Oui, Hamtaro and I figured you would want to come along with us!"

"That's gr--WHAT!"

"Oui, we're all friends, aren't we?" Bijou asked Boss.

"Hehehe…yeah…_friends…_" Boss shook his head and went along with it. Soon all the groups were chosen. Most of the groups were the same way they started this morning. The groups were:

Group 1: Sandy and Maxwell

Group 2: Hamtaro, Bijou, and Boss

Group 3: Pashmina, Penelope, Panda, and Cappy

"Alright everyone!" Hamtaro spoke up again. "We have to meet each other at the Ham-Ham Rangers Live Show in about an hour, alright?" Everyone nodded as they all went on their way.

Before they left, Pashmina and Bijou whispered to Sandy "Remember to kiss him!"

"Oh, this is like so embarrassing…" Sandy sighed and left with Maxwell.

"You have five seeds behind your back!"

"And we have a winner!" The ham-ham shouted.

A few minutes later, Maxwell was heaving dolls almost twice his size. It seemed that while he didn't do well with the arcade games (excluding DDR), he was able to do many of the carnival type games. He was especially good with the type of game where the ham would guess his weight, for his height fooled the ham all the time into thinking he was rather heavy. By this time, though, he was very tired from carrying all those dolls, not to mention almost out of money. _Geez…these things weigh a ton and are practically toppling me over…and I don't have much money left. I guess the date is going to end right here. So maybe we should end it with something a little…I don't know…_

"Hey Maxy?" Maxwell looked back at Sandy smiling. "We didn't go on any rides yet. How about we just leave everything in the car and go on a few rides? We still have, like, about 30 minutes left."

After putting away all the dolls and trinkets they won from the games, the couple returned to the carnival.

"C'mon Maxy, it's nearby! You, like, have to see it!"

"Okay, okay! Calm down, Sandy!" Maxwell chuckled nervously. Ever since Sandy knew they were going to the Ham-Ham Carnival, she had been urging Maxwell to come with her on a specific ride. Maxwell just kept nodding as Sandy kept spewing words like a little kid, unaware of the ride she was taking him to…

"Damn it, this crowd!" Yelled a really ticked off Stan. He had been through too much already, and the day was only getting worse. After being soiled with food, punched by King Kong, and humiliated by Maxwell, he couldn't take it anymore. He needed to go and do what he needed to do: ruin Sandy and Maxwell's date. But with the way things were going, Stan was about to start growling like a real tiger. His anger could easily be felt by everyone, which made a few think he was a real tiger for a moment. _Just calm down Stan…this is the perfect place to set up a bad date, because anything can happen here. Now I just need to find out what anything is… _Suddenly, while Stan was pondering what to do…

"GAAAAAH!"

"Hekeeee!" A couple of cars from the bumper car area were sent flying into a snack stand. Luckily the owner of the snack stand moved out quickly. Soon after the cars had land at the snack stand, they flipped over and exploded. _Either those two play too much Grand Theft Piggies or those guys most be the worse drivers in the world… _Stan thought with a sweat drop on his head. Luckily the drivers were alright. They staggered and tumbled out of their cars, charred black, and fell on top of each other. One of the two was a little more noticeable because he was bigger than your average hamster. _Don't I know them from somewhere?_ Then from the bumper car area…

"Hamtaro! Boss! Are you two alright?" exclaimed a worried Bijou coming out of the bumper car area.

"I'm fine…just peachy…" Boss muttered.

"I'm fine Bijou…just one question…" Hamtaro said. "Who's Hamtaro?"

"Oh, you two are so silly!" Bijou hugged the two of them, despite the fact that the soot dirtied her fur. Both Hamtaro and Boss blushed. _Well at least I get a hug from her… _Boss thought. Then all of a sudden, she schmubby-wubbied both of them. Boss was out for the count

"Oh my, Boss has fainted!"

"He'll wake up soon." Hamtaro told her. He then took Boss and put Boss' head on his shoulder. "He should be awake by the time we get to Ham-Ham Ranger Show." He then took Bijou's paw and blushed. "Thank-Q, for the hug I mean."

Bijou's face turned so red that it seemed to make the black stain on her fur disappear. Bijou just smiled and took his paw. "Oh Hamtaro…"

As the three headed for the Ham-Ham Rangers Show, Stan's mischievous grin returned. This time, his plans wouldn't fail. He was sure of it. He started heading for the first ride he knew Sandy would go to. _They're obviously going there. No doubt about it!_

I wonder which ride we'll be going on… Maxwell had been wondering that from the start, but decided to wait until Sandy brought him there. _I wonder…is it going to be the Twirl-e cups from before? _Maxwell blushed as he remembered that day:

Maxwell had been wondering that from the start, but decided to wait until Sandy brought him there. Maxwell blushed as he remembered that day: 

_Like, what's taking them so long?_

_Geez...that bookworm is really getting on my nerves...Oh there they are! Hey Hamtaro, how did it go this time?_

_Uh..._

_...alright sis...we're outta here..._

_But Stan...!_

_Don't worry, I won't be like Maxwell. I'll give up my girl hunts and stay by you, that way I can spend the entire day playing with you._

_Stan..._

_Sorry I'm late!_

_Oh...look who decided to show up...?_

_Stan, that wasn't very nice! Maxy, weren't you busy readying your book?_

_No, that's not important right now. What's important is you, Sandy. You asked me to come out here, and yet all I do is sit down and ready, maing you upset. But I'm over that now. C'mon, let's get on the Twirl-E cups._

_Oh Maxwell..._

_Wow, I was really dumb back then... _He thought to himself.

"We're here, Maxwell!" Sandy exclaimed

"Oh so this is the--What the!" Maxwell looked up at the ride at they were in front of. The sign read 'Sky Coaster: the fastest, scariest roller coaster in the history of all that is ham-ham!'. At that point, Maxwell would've fainted or fallen from a heart attack if Sandy wasn't with him. He then peered at his surrounding for his big escape route. "Hey! Would you look at that? A book sale! Let's go Sandy, I bet they've got a lot of great books over there!" As Maxwell started running, his girlham gripped his paw and dragged him into the line.

"Oh no you don't! You're not trying that again! You're coming with me on the roller coaster!" Sandy exclaimed as she kept her grip on him.

"But hasn't this coaster been known to go out of control?"

"Yeah, but that was when Spat was around. You'll, like, be totally fine! Trust me!"

"O-o-o-o-o-kay…" Even if Maxwell had found another escape, he was already trapped in the line. There was no turning back now.

A few minutes later, Sandy and Maxwell were in front of the line and the roller coaster was now in front of them.

"Please don't make me do this Sandy…" Maxwell cried.

"Oh, like, don't be such a big baby…" Sandy teased Maxwell. "You'll be fine." It was right at that moment that one of the guys working the Sky Coaster strapped both of them in and let out a very terrifying laugh. Maxwell sank very low in his seat, not wanting to see any of it. Sandy just sighed. "What happened to that confidence you had earlier?" Maxwell gave Sandy a puzzled look. Sandy just smiled and took Maxwell's paw. "You had so much confidence earlier. You stood up for yourself at the arcades and everything else that came in our today. What made me truly happy wasn't the high score you left at DDR or the numerous prizes you got me, it was the fact you've become so confident and so brave. So don't you think that worrying over this ride would be pointless?"

Maxwell shook his head and gripped Sandy's paw tightly. "You're right. It would be pointless if I were to be afraid of this one ride when I was able to stand up against all those other obstacles." Maxwell smiled. "I'm not afraid."

"That's right, Maxwell." Sandy encouraged him with a sweet, caring smile. Then the ride started to move. "Oh, and by the way, it's alright if you scream!"

"But didn't you tell me that I shouldn't be afraid?" asked a confused Maxwell.

"Yeah, but screaming lets it all out and you feel so much better afterwards!"

"Heke?" Maxwell was a bit confused but decided to go with it. The sky coaster was making it's slow ascent up the track, which built up many emotions within Maxwell. He was still scared of course, but he was also curious, excited, confident…so many built up. All Maxwell could feel at the moment was his heart pounding and the Sandy's paw, which he continued to grip. Then as the front of the roller coaster paused at the apex of the track, Maxwell surveyed his surroundings. Everything looked so small from where he was. It felt like he was on top of the world, watching everyone below. He could nearly see all of ham-ham land; the buildings, the sites, the other rides, almost everything. Only one word could escape is mouth. "Amazing…"

"I know." Sandy responded. "This is one of the best reasons to go on a roller coaster." The wind began to ruffle against her fur again. "It feels like we're in heaven."

"I know I am…_my angel_…" Maxwell said to himself, viewing the angel right next to him.

No seriously, he almost thought that Sandy was an angel for a few seconds.

"Hm? Did you say something Maxwell?" Sandy asked.

"Oh, nothing. I do have one question though." Maxwell began. "You said that there were other reasons for going on a roller coaster. What are the reasons?"

"Oh! Why don't you look straight down?" Sandy said with one of those mischievously playful smiles.

"Hm? I don't see anything but--!…oh no…" Oh yes. It wasn't until now that Maxwell noticed that the roller coaster was now at it's highest point and was going to go down it's first and most steepest incline. The roller coaster finally started to move again and this time, it wasn't going to be some slow climb. "I'm…going…to…_diiiieeee!_"

"Here we go!" All that could be heard now was the screaming of many different ham hams on the roller coaster going through the most steepest incline, the most dizzying heights, the most loopiest loops…you know what I mean. At this point, Maxwell couldn't feel anything…anything but Sandy…

"I have to say Sandy…that was the most fun I've ever had!" Maxwell exclaimed loudly and enthusiastically. Almost everyone could hear him. Sandy was doing her best to keep cool after seeing the stares they were getting, and smiled.

"Toldya so, Maxwell!" Sandy exclaimed just as loudly. They didn't care about the crowd anymore. They were having too much fun.

Soon after their excitement slightly subsided, Sandy hugged Maxwell from behind.

"I, like, knew you could do it, you dork." Sandy smiled. Maxwell couldn't help but smile back. "Hm? We got time left to kill. Let's go on something a little slower."

Maxwell started to tense a bit again. Sandy's last line sounded very…seductive and tantalizing. _Slower? Could that mean…? _Maxwell gasped softly to himself. _Does this mean we're going to the…tunnel of love? Sandy…_

"Let's go to the…Twirl-e cups!" Maxwell, apparently no psychic, fell head-first anime style.

"Is there something wrong Maxy?"

"Oh, uh…nothing." Maxwell shook his head and just went with it.

"You, like, sure you're okay?" Sandy asked again. They were on the Twirl-e cups.

"Oh, don't worry about it, Sandy." Maxwell answered, trying to fake a smile. As Sandy continued enjoying the motion of the little porcelain cups, Maxwell simply gazed at her again, lost in thought. _So it wasn't the tunnel of love after all…I guess it doesn't matter anyway. It's only one day. I mean, we wouldn't be like that this early…right? _But suddenly, new feelings for Sandy started to surge up Maxwell's body. He couldn't begin to describe the desire that was building within him. If he could, he would just grab right now and lock lips with her passionately, but he knew he had to control himself.

What's wrong with him…? Sandy asked herself. She knew that many things were on Maxwell's mind, but she didn't have the heart to ask him. It was then that more feelings started to prance throughout her body. She looked back at Maxwell. _I'm starting to feel…so…_But Sandy couldn't comprehend exactly what she was feeling. All she is knew

Sandy asked herself. She knew that many things were on Maxwell's mind, but she didn't have the heart to ask him. It was then that more feelings started to prance throughout her body. She looked back at Maxwell. But Sandy couldn't comprehend exactly what she was feeling. All she is knew 

was that she wanted only one ham-ham. _I want…you. Maxwell…_

Soon the ride was over, yet they continued they silence, trying to understand how to feed their desire for each other.

Then Maxwell broke the silence with the most pitiful, yet ironic excuse ever. "Oh, would you look at that? It's time for us to meet everyone at the Ham-Ham Ranger show!"

"Hm? Oh, you're right! Let's go!" And so they hurried off for the show, but their desire for each other continued to burn deep within themselves.

"What's my fortune, damn it!"

"I-I-it's nothing at all, really!"

"C'mon, ya crazy ham-ham! If he doesn't wanna tell ya, then he won't tell ya!"

Soon enough, Sandy and Maxwell found themselves in yet another weird situation.

"What's up with them?" Maxwell asked Hamtaro.

"I don't know." Hamtaro shrugged as he responded. "Boss just asked Oxnard for his fortune and then Oxnard was about to walk away until Boss grabbed him. Right now, Pepper is trying to pry Boss off."

"I wonder what he asked Oxnard?" Bijou added. "Boss, Sandy and Maxwell are here now! Let us go in."

Boss finally released his grip on Oxnard and nodded. "Alright, let's all go inside and pray that those two don't screw it up in there…" All of them slowly nodded and went in.

As they went in, Pepper patted Oxnard on the back. "Don't worry about it, Oxy. At least he didn't ask for a refund."

Oxnard chuckled for a bit. "Yeah. My neck hurts a lot…Pepper, can I…?"

"Oh yes. Your special 'medicine.'" Pepper then gave Oxnard yet another sunflower seed. Oxnard proceeded to munch on it.

It had only been five minutes, and there were already so many boos in the crowd. Why? Well…

"Zuzuzuzuzuzu…" the red and blue ham-ham rangers were fast asleep.

The other ham-ham rangers just looked at them and whispered to each other: _you first…_

From the crowd, the ham-hams just bowed their heads in pity.

"Well, whaddya expect from them?" Boss finally said.

"Those guys are, like, so embarrassing…" Sandy added.

"Even the kids in here are starting to leave…" Maxwell continued.

"What am I gonna do about them…" sighed a very disappointed Pashmina.

Just as everyone was about to leave, some gray ham-hams appeared out of nowhere. One of them, in order to wake the two up, kicked them at their sides.

"Ow! What the heck're ya tryin' to do, Dexter!"

"Me! I'll have you know that you were the one who kicked me first, Howdy!"

"I did not!"

"Did too!"

"Did not!" It continued back and forth until the two finally jumped at each other and starting beating each other up. A lot of the kids stayed, though. Many wanted to know which ham-ham ranger was the best, so they continued rooting for them as they shouted 'RED!' or 'BLUE!'. The ham-hams just hid their faces to cover their shame. Cappy even pulled his hat over his face so no one would recognize him as their friends.

Backstage, the evil Silvar was getting ready to launch his evil plan…while the real Silvar was tied up in the bathroom. _Heh…now THIS is the perfect plan!_

After beating the crap out of each other, Howdy and Dexter lay sprawled out on the floor. Their big brawl got everyone else on stage caught up in it, which knocked them all out.

"…I…have…had…enough…of this…" Dexter wheezed.

"Enough? I'm just gettin' started!" Howdy exclaimed as he attempted to get back on his feet. Everyone in the crowd just remained silent. He then helped Dexter up. "Geez…what a convenient time to get all tired! Everyone's knocked out!" Just as Dexter was about to respond back, an evil laugh came from above.

"Bruahahahahaha! It looks like my evil henchmen were of no use after all!" exclaimed the dark ham-ham from above. It was Silvar. "Now you shall all perish! …but first…I shall apprehend someone from this crowd of pathetic ham-hams!" A couple of kids raised their hands, hoping to be the one to be kidnapped, but this ham already knew who he was going for. _Alright Sandy, it's time for this date to end! _It turns out that Silvar was none other than Stan. He then cued for smoke to appear. "This little one shall belong to me!" Stan swooped from where he was and grabbed Sandy. He made his way back to the catwalk he was on. "Now try and rescue this lovely young…uh-oh…" Uh-oh was right. It turned out Stan had missed his target. The girl-ham he abducted was…

"P-pashmina..!"

"Heke? Where am--" Pashmina looked down, noticing how high she was. Then she turned around to see that Silvar was right behind her. Suddenly, she had an idea how to end this thing well. "Help! Someone please save me!"

Howdy and Dexter looked at each other and nodded. "Truce." They then proceeded with beating the crap out of Stan. They used their hamspar ham-chat and got ready to deliver the final blow. "Flames of justice!" They hit Stan with a double whammy and sent him flying. Everyone applauded their victory and Pashmina got back down and hugged them.

However Sandy wasn't cheering at all. She noticed something awkward about Silvar when he launched out. It was then that she realized who it was. _Could it be…? It is! Stan! _She then left the place and went to search for her brother.

"Wait! Where are you going, Sandy?" Sandy couldn't hear Maxwell. She just kept running. He wanted to chase after her, but the crowd wouldn't let up. _What's she getting so worked up about?_

Sandy kept running in the direction Stan was hit. She needed to know what was going on. _What are you doing here, Stan? Why didn't you tell me you were here? _Suddenly, she ran smack into a couple of familiar guys.

"Oooh. What do we have here?" It was the large ham-hams from the theater.

"Where could she be!"

"Chill, Maxwell!" Panda urged his friend to cool off. Maxwell was really worried about Sandy after she'd dashed off like that.

"I'm sure Sandy is alright." Hamtaro added.

"I wish I could agree…" Maxwell responded back. "But I can't accept that. I know there's something wrong! She wouldn't run off like that if there wasn't anything wrong!" Everyone just remained silent. They'd never seen Maxwell like this before. "I know that she can take care of herself…but I'm her boyham. Wouldn't you all be worried if something made your friend all of sudden run off on their own?" Everyone bowed their heads. They knew he was right. "I'm looking for Sandy. Please go ahead and have fun without us. We'll meet up outside in the parking lot later." And so Maxwell left, trying to find his beloved girlham.

"We're coming with you!" Pashmina tried to chase him but Panda stopped her. "What are you doing Panda?"

"It's best that he do it on his own…" Everyone turned to Panda. "If you've all noticed, ever since Sandy came into his life, Maxwell started to get a little braver. That's why it's best that he goes alone. If Sandy really is in trouble, it's best that her boyham do it on his own. I mean, wouldn't you be disappointed if the one you love were to let his friends save you and not him?" Bijou and Pashmina bow there heads. "Exactly. I want to help Maxwell too, but this is something he'd best do on his own."

"So the pretty little tiger is all alone now, eh?" The large ham-ham said. They'd been chasing Sandy for awhile, and now they finally had her cornered.

Sandy kept her composure and tried to remain calm. _I'm pretty strong for a girl ham… I can take them out, right? _But Sandy couldn't move. She just stood still, almost as if she were _…no I can't be afraid…could I be…? _She didn't know what to do. She kept denying it, but she really was afraid. Almost paralyzed. _Why can't I beat them up…?_

"Stop!" They all turned around to see a very worn out bookworm.

"Maxwell…" That was all she uttered. Sandy didn't expect Maxwell to chase her all the way here, not to mention she was afraid of what would happen to him.

"It's the nosey ham-ham who wouldn't shut up earlier." The large thugs turned towards Maxwell.

"Unhand her immediately!" Maxwell charged at the thugs, only to receive the same punishment Stan got earlier.

Sandy started crying in her mind. _No! Please stop, Maxwell! I don't want you to get hurt too! _But… "Was that IT?" All the thugs looked back at him as he got up. "Your blows scarcely even leave a scratch!" Everyone was so surprised at how easily he took that punch, Sandy especially. Even the way in which Maxwell spoke to them was different. Normally Maxwell would never talk in that tone. At this point, he seemed even tougher than Boss. "If you think that you can stop me with your sissy punches then you have another thing coming…"

"Quit your bluff you friggin' bookw--" But the thug was interrupted…by Maxwell's punch. The thug wasn't sent flying or anything. He just crumbled to the ground, unconscious. The other thugs looked at Maxwell and quickly left the place. Sandy was still paralyzed, watching the entire confrontation unfold. _Maxwell…you did that all on your own! For me?_

"Are you alright, Sandy?" Maxwell asked as he slowly gripped Sandy's paw.

Sandy didn't know what to say. For a minute, she bowed her head until she finally uttered something. "Why…why did you have to go through all this and get hurt…?"

"Because…you were the one who told me to be like this." Sandy looked up at Maxwell as he continued. "You told me before that you wanted me to be brave. When you left the show, I was so worried…and then I saw those jerks chase after you. I would've tried to look for someone to help…but then I remembered what you told me." Maxwell paused for a second and looked her straight in the eyes. "You told me to be confident. You wanted me to be brave so I could stand up for myself. That's why I went through all that to find you."

"Maxwell…" Sandy wanted to break down and cry. Lord knows not because she was sad, but because she was happy that Maxwell was alright, and that he was able to stand up not only for himself, but for her. She didn't know what to say or do. It was then that those feelings she had earlier started to kick up again at full speed. _What is this…? I'm feel so strange…I… _She then hugged Maxwell so tightly, nearly choking him. She then stroked his cheek, making those feelings in Maxwell rise again. Then Sandy asked in an almost enticing, seductive voice, "Maxy…do you wanna go somewhere quiet?"

Maxwell placed his head on hers and hugged her back, smelling her fresh fragrance. He stroked her cheek and then let out one phrase. "I'd love to."

Meanwhile, Hamtaro and the others continued touring the rest of the Ham-Ham Carnival. They'd been walking for hours, wondering what Sandy and Maxwell were doing.

"I wish there was more action around here." yawned a very bored Howdy. "You guys're usually talkin' yer mouths of. What're y'all so quiet for?"

"Something's not right." Pashmina finally spoke up.

"What do you mean?" Dexter asked.

"It's just that… usually by now, Stan would be getting everyone all irritated and stuff."

"Don't tell me you think it's cuz Stan's not here?" Boss questioned her.

"I don't know, but don't you think it's weird that he's not here?" Pashmina asked everyone.

"Don't mind him." Panda said to her. "He's probably just out looking for some girl-hams." Pashmina just nodded, not giving the fact that she was almost missing him. She was also worried about one other ham-ham. _I wonder how you're doing with Cappy, Penelope…_

"What shall we do now?" Bijou asked everyone. That's when Boss' light bulb started to light up again. _Of course! The tunnel of love!_

Just as Boss was about to ask Bijou out…

"Yoohoo! Hamtaro! Bijou!" a white ham-ham with wings and halo came forth.

"Harmony! Long time no see!" Hamtaro greeted her.

"It's great to see my favorite couple once again." Harmony told the two, which ended up making them blush. Boss decided to ignore it this time.

"Who's this, Hamtaro?" asked Pashmina.

"Oh, I should probably introduce her to all of you." Hamtaro began. "This is Harmony, the one who helped us defeat Spat."

"Oh, so you're the one who help them out!" Each one of the ham-hams greeted Harmony.

After a few minutes of chatter, Hamtaro finally changed the subject. "So Harmony, what are you doing back here?"

"Well I've been low on cash for awhile. You don't really get many seeds from chasing after Spat, so now I'm working here in the Ham-Ham Carnival." Harmony pointed out her store. "I'm here to sell some products for a certain pop star. Unfortunately, I've already forgotten her name…"

"Oh is it the MiniHamuzu (Mini Moni)?" Hamtaro asked. Harmony shook her head.

Then Boss decided to also take a guess. "Oh! What about DJ Ham?" Harmony shook her head again. Everyone kept shouting out names of who the pop star could be, only to be answered with Harmony's shaking head.

Finally the 'pop star' tapped Hamtaro on the shoulder. She was brown and, like Bijou, had pigtails. "Oh, hamha, Sparkle! We're all trying to guess which pop star Harmony works for. Can you help us?"

That's when a vein on Sparkle's forehead popped. "It's ME, you dolt!" After a minute, everyone simply said 'Oooooooooooooh'. Sparkle sighed.

Everyone just kept laughing and cheering until Harmony wore a more serious look on her face. "What's wrong, Harmony?" Bijou asked her.

"He's back…"

After that last failure, Stan was already was running low on ideas, not to mention time and patience. _Geez…what do I have to do to break them up, kill Maxwell!_ Stan took another deep breath. _Okay, I gotta calm down. I still got time left, right. _That's when he saw Sandy and Maxwell passing him. _It's them! _He saw them huddled together as they walked to their next destination. Stan was getting scared now as Maxwell lovingly nipped Sandy's paws, making her blush furiously.

"Stop it, Maxy!" Sandy giggled, then began speaking in a very enticing voice. "Wait until we get to the tunnel of love."

"Oh, alright." They continued to their destination.

Stan was now even more panicked. _I've never heard Sandy use that kind of voice. It sounds so…SEDUCTIVE! No! I'm running out of time! _That's when his final plan came into action. _The control room…maybe I can finally ruin their date over there…but the guards there won't let me in…think…THINK… _Finally a huge smile slapped itself back on his face. This time, he knew his plan wouldn't fail. _Now all I need is that costume…_

As he ran off, another ham-ham came by with the plan of ruining love. But his plan wasn't directed to one couple. He was planning to erase love from the face of the earth. _You won't stop me this time…Hamtaro and Bijou…pfffffffftt…_

All the ham-hams were now searching all over for a certain hamster.

"Grrrrr…to think that little runt Spat is back…" Boss growled as all the ham-hams searched the place for him. They have been running all over asking question, trying to flush out the elusive ham-ham wearing his trademark devil costume.

Harmony sighed. "And I thought that love shot did it…"

"Why's everyone all worked up about this ham named Spat?" Sparkle obviously had no idea who Spat was.

"Why!" Boss turned around and faced Sparkle. "Because with him around, all love is doomed! Don't you care!"

"Of course I care, idiot!" Sparkle yelled back. "Did you think I was heartless or something!"

"Hmmm…good question…" Boss said sarcastically.

"You…" Sparkle grumbled.

"Aw…" Harmony interrupted. "I see you two like to argue. It's as if you two were a couple."

"WHAT! Me, love him/her!" Boss and Sparkle exclaimed in unison.

"C'mon you guys, stop fighting," Hamtaro stepped in. "We have to find Spat."

"Wait a minute…" Harmony sniffed the air over and over. She pointed to a certain area. "He's over there."

Panda suddenly gasped. "What is it, Panda?" Pashmina asked him.

"That's where the control room is!" Everyone was shaken in a frenzy.

"We have to hurry!" Hamtaro said, bolting for the control room.

"Wait for me, Hamtaro!" Bijou followed Hamtaro, along with the other ham-hams.

Harmony followed along after them, throwing a familiar slingshot and bag to Hamtaro. "You remember how to use these, right?" Hamtaro nodded.

Bijou also took out her weapon. "Let's get that rascal once and for all!" That's when everyone's movements were halted by an anime face fall. Bijou had yet another flashlight in her paws.

Over at the control room, the ham-ham carnival faculty were getting bored looking at the view screens, until hearing a couple of ham-hams screaming something.

"Keep that racket down or else--" However, the ham-ham was stopped…by a pitchfork. Standing in front of him was an evil looking ham-ham wearing a devil-like costume who had a grim black and gray fur pattern.

"Or else what?"

"S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-SPAT!"

"That's right! It is I, Spat! Hater of all love and kindness! Now stand aside as I take control of this entire carnival!" he cackled evilly.

There was one thing peculiar about this Spat, and the staff member knew what it was. "Didn't you used to say 'pffffffft' at the end of your sentences?"

All that question got him was Spat's pitchfork waving viciously in front of him. "Does this answer your question?" The staff member panicked and left the building. Soon, Spat found himself in front of the control panel. He scrolled through the many security cameras until he found the one surveying the tunnel of love. _Perfect. There's absolutely no way this will fail. There's no one here to stop me, whether it's Sandy, Maxwell, or every ham-ham here, since everyone here thinks I'm Spat. _There you had it, Stan was disguised as Spat. "This is the perfect plan, don't you think?"

"Yeah, pfffffft. There's absolutely no one who can stop my plan to destroy all love, pfffffft." said the ham-ham next to him.

"Yeah. There's no one who can--" Then Stan froze as well as the other ham-ham. The two turned around and were shocked to see…each other? _Oh crap…the real Spat's here!_

"How dare you copy me, pfffffffft!" And Stan was thrust into yet another weird situation. As the two struggled, they crashed into several of the mirrors that surrounded them.

Soon the other ham-hams arrived to see what appeared to be many Spats fighting each other.

"I thought there was only one Spat!" Dexter exclaimed as he pointed at the numerous Spats.

"I don't get it." Harmony spoke up. "There's supposed to be only one Spat!"

"So what do we?" Bijou asked everyone.

Hamtaro there was only one way to get rid of Spat. "…Get all of them!" And soon a big fight erupted between the ham-hams and some mirrors…

Everything was perfect for Sandy and Maxwell at the tunnel of love. There was no one to bother them, it was just the two of them with each other, alone. Everything that happened early was fun, but now they were seriously in love. Their feelings for each other had finally reached a point where they couldn't hold them in. They wanted to become a part of each other.

Sandy, her head still on Maxwell's chest, thought back on the events from earlier. How Maxwell was able to confront any obstacle. _Maxwell…in such little time, it feel's like he's grown so much. Before, Maxwell, like, wasn't too brave. But now…that same boy ham protected me. It's true that Maxwell is a bookworm, but…I always believed he was totally strong. No matter how much he hides it, no matter how much denies it, he has the strength within him to surpass anyone. And he used that same strength on those jerks. I, like, wish there was something I could do for him. _Then Sandy kept rubbing her face in Maxwell's chest.

Maxwell was taken by surprise. "Sandy…?"

"You're all sweaty." Sandy giggled. _And yet you smell so good…I've been really feeling for him lately. Now I want him more than ever…I want all of me to belong to the one I love…Maxwell…_

Maxwell just shook his head and continued to keep her close. _She's really something, isn't she? She usually puts up a strong front, but seeing her like that with thugs…it made me realize how fragile she really is. She may act tough, but I guess the truth is that she's just as weak as Bijou or Pashmina. No…she's strong alright…but even she can be weak. I guess that's why she loved me in the first place. She wanted someone to love and protect her…It's been so long since we've first met, since we first confessed our feelings to each other. Now I feel that it's time…to take our relationship…even further… _Then Maxwell licked Sandy's nose, startling Sandy a bit, but she enjoyed very much. The warm sensation made her moan in pleasure. She wanted everything from him…everything…

"Oh, Maxwell…" Sandy finally looked up at Maxwell's face. There he was, his fur dripping with sweat, his kind eyes. Nothing could describe the sensation building within her.

Maxwell held so much passion within himself at this point. Her beautifully soft, golden fur shone even in the darkness of the tunnel, as did her twinkling eyes, Maxwell wanted it all. "Sandy…" Their desire for each other made their hearts beat even faster. Soon their faces started moving closer to each other. Their lips only inches away. And then…

"Man! It's hot it in here isn't it?"

"Ookwee!" Sandy and Maxwell's moment alone was only brief. Apparently, a couple of stowaways had climbed on board.

"Cappy! Penelope!" Sandy nearly fainted, having almost let the youngest ham-hams see something they shouldn't have.

"W-what are you two doing here?" Maxwell exclaimed.

Cappy bowed his head. "I'm sorry Maxwell. It's just that this is the last swan for the tunnel of love today, so the both of us thought that maybe we could ride with you two?"

Sandy simply sighed and smiled. "Oh, I get it. So you two, like, have the hots for each other, huh?" Cappy and Penelope just blushed. Maxwell, on the other hand groaned slightly. Sandy whispered to him. "It's not like we can ditch them, Maxwell. And, like they said, it's the last ride. We might as well let them stay."

Maxwell sighed and nodded. _And just when I thought everything was going our way…_

Unlike Maxwell and Sandy's very calm and soothing ride, the battle ensuing in the ham-ham carnival control room was chaotic. If the two Spats struggling in the room weren't enough, the noise coming from the ham-hams was. After they found out that Spat was in the control room, they all gathered to see millions of Spats fighting each other…or at least reflections of the two Spats.

"There are just too many of them!" Pashmina exclaimed.

"What are we gonna do now?" Howdy shouted.

"Wait a minute!" Everyone turned to Panda as he examined the Spats around them. Then, Panda took out his hammer and smashed one of the mirrors in front of him. "Just as I thought! They're all reflections from a mirror."

Pashmina then ran up to Panda and hugged him. "Oh, you're so brilliant, Panda!" Panda simply blushed. Dexter and Howdy muttered.

"So then how many Spats are there?" Sparkle asked Harmony.

"Well, I sense only one of them…" Harmony began. "But it looks like there are two of them fighting each other."

"It doesn't matter." Hamtaro interrupted. "We have to destroy all these mirrors to get to them."

"Leave that to me!" Panda then got to work and used his hammers to smash them. Of course there were so many to smash, so it was taking quite awhile to get the job done.

"I'd better help speed this up." And with that, Boss took out his pick axe and busted up some more mirrors. Soon everyone joined in to break all the mirrors…everyone except Sparkle.

"You guys are crazy. Wouldn't you get glass shards on your fur doing that?"

"If you think it's so crazy, then y'may as well get outta here!" Boss shouted back.

Sparkle muttered incoherently to herself, then picked up a nearby wrench and helped smash all the mirrors.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the mirrors, the real Spat smacked Stan with his pitchfork and pinned him down. Spat was ready to knock out Stan and get back to what he started.

"It's time that I put you to sleep. Nighty-night, pfpth!" But just as Spat was about to hit Stan, Stan suddenly let out a ferocious roar that was so powerful, it knocked Spat right off of him, allowing Stan to get up.

Stan a little shocked by what he had just done. "How was I able to do that?" Soon his mission came back to mind. "I'd better go and check on the tunnel of love!" Stan turned to the control panel and saw the view screen showing the tunnel of love. He soon spotted Maxwell and Sandy sitting together. _Alright, this is it! Now how to stop this…_ Stan searched until he soon found a button that said 'button that flips over tunnel of love swan'. A large sweat drop appeared on his after reading the label on the button. _Now why would they make a button like that for the tunnel of love? Hmph…whatever. At least that makes my mission that much easier! _And with that, Stan pushed the button that would soon end Sandy and Maxwell's date…or did it?

Suddenly at the tunnel of love, Maxwell felt a strange rumbling on the swan. "What's going on?"

"Is this part of the ride?" Sandy asked. Soon the four passengers of the swan fell right into the water. Their fur was soaking wet. They felt as if they had become sponges. Maxwell groaned again, seeing that their perfect moment had been totally ruined. _Great… I wonder what Sandy's thinking now…_

But to his surprise, he heard Sandy giggling. Soon that giggling turned into laughter. Maxwell couldn't understand why she'd be laughing. They were together alone, about to experience their first kiss, when Cappy and Penelope snuck onto the swan. Then, to top it all off, it had flipped over! But for some reason, Maxwell started to laugh along with her. He couldn't understand why but somehow it was humorous that the swan actually flipped over. It was as if Sandy's laughter suddenly erased everything bad that happened on the date. Like nothing mattered anymore. What mattered was that she was in front of him, smiling happily. Maxwell couldn't help but smile too.

The next thing Maxwell knew, Sandy was resting her head gently upon his chest. Her fur, despite the fact that it was drenched, felt so soft. Maxwell took her slowly into his arms, twirled her around to face him, and gazed deeply into her glistening, emerald eyes. Chills danced down Sandy's spine as Maxwell moved his lips closer to her ears and uttered one word:

"Aishiteru… (I love you)" A small tear slid down Sandy's already drenched fur. She couldn't be any happier. The blush on her face was so red after hearing that one word. She turned around and put her arm around Maxwell's neck, responding back to him:

"Aishiteru…Noppo-kun… (I love you…Maxwell…)" The time was right. Everything was perfect. Everything…except for the fact that Cappy and Penelope were still there.

Cappy felt a tug on his fur. "What is it, Penel--" Cappy was cut off with Penelope jumping on him as they both submerged underwater.

Now everything was perfect. Sandy and Maxwell stared into each other's eyes. Their hearts were beating even faster now. The reflection from the water only made the scene even more beautiful. It was now or never. Their faces closed in, as they chased away the distance between their lips until the impact finally occurred. Then their lips separated for a brief second, from slight insecurity, until Maxwell placed his lips back on Sandy's, and started to kiss her deeper as his tongue licked her mouth as he brought her closer. He nipped gently but roughly at her upper lip. Sandy trembled slightly from excitement, as she slid his tongue into Maxwell's mouth and allowed their tongues to dance with one another as the kiss continued. The taste of each other drove them to continue their kiss as deeply and passionately as possible. A tingling sensation shot up both their bodies, making them numb to the cold water surrounding them. It was as if time had stopped, just so the two of them could enjoy each other. What mattered most to Sandy and Maxwell was the ham-ham their eyes gazed at.

Finally, the kiss had ended as their lips parted. They continued to look into each other's eyes, until Sandy finally moved to Maxwell's ear and whispered something in his ear:

"Your breath stinks."

"What!"

"Oh c'mon, I'm totally joking." Sandy giggled at Maxwell's sudden outburst. Maxwell couldn't help but smile. Sandy finally got up and started to turn over the swan.

Knowing that Sandy couldn't turn it over by herself, Maxwell walked over to the swan. "Let me help you with that." Sandy simply smiled as they turned over the swan. "It's getting kind of late. We'd better get back and meet the other ham-hams."

"Yeah." Sandy nodded. "Hey, you two can come out now!" There was no answer. "Cappy? Penelope?" That was when she remembered that in order to give them peace and quiet… "Maxwell, those two are underwater!"

"What!" Maxwell then dove down and grabbed the two young ones.

"Are they alright?"

"They're fine." Maxwell replied. "Maybe a little too fine." Sandy nodded as she saw the hint of blush on both their cheeks. Obviously Penelope did a little more than just hide Cappy. Maxwell opened the door to the swan and extended his arm, bowing. "After you!" Sandy giggled and they rode the swan out, paw in paw.

Meanwhile, at the control room, Stan remained silent. He had seen every bit of the kiss that Sandy and Maxwell had shared. He couldn't believe it. _I guess I failed after all, Mom. It's only a matter of time until…_

"So, you think you got rid of me so easily, pfpth!" Stan's eyes widened as he turned around to see Spat charging at him. Suddenly, an explosion of pink engulfed Spat, only inches from Stan's face. After the pink smoke was cleared, Spat was on the ground, his costume changed into familiar angel costume.

"Phew…I got him!" said a familiar voice. As the smoke cleared, he saw Hamtaro holding a slingshot. Soon after, all the ham-hams appeared next to him.

"Oh no! It's the other Spat!" Oxnard pointed out.

It was a dead end for Stan. He couldn't escape, and there was no way he could fight his way out. It was best that he gave in. He took off his costume and shook off the dust that he used for Spat's fur. The ham-hams were shocked to see Stan right in front of them.

"Stan!" Soon Boss, Howdy, and Dexter were readying themselves to get a piece of the tiger ham.

"Wait!" However they were stopped by the two girl hams, Pashmina and Bijou. "You can't hurt him."

"Pashmina is right," Bijou added. "Stan must have some sort of explanation, oui?"

Stan, not taking his suit off the ground, said "I was out to ruin Sandy and Maxwell's date…"

That's when Bijou and Pashmina fell silent, allowing Boss, Howdy, and Dexter to take care of him. Then…

"Stop! Don't hurt him!" This time it was Hamtaro.

"What are you doing, Hamtaro!" Boss exclaimed. "He even admitted it, you heard him! He was out to ruin Sandy and Maxwell's date!"

"I know!" Hamtaro replied back. "But…don't you see the look on his face? He's not here to create any trouble or anything. He must have a reason for it. Don't you, Stan?"

"I agree." Panda spoke up.

"Panda…" Pashmina was shocked that Panda, Maxwell's best friend, would defend Stan, who attempted to ruin his date with Sandy.

"Stan obviously has his reasons for this. Otherwise he wouldn't seem so depressed. After all, he hasn't been heard from, for several hours. Don't you think he'd be going too far trying to sabotage the date after all that time?" Everyone agreed. There had to be a reason explanation for Stan's actions.

Hamtaro walked over to Stan and finally asked him "Why are you trying to ruin their date?" Stan wouldn't respond. Hamtaro whispered in his ear. "I would rather confess now, unless you want to feel their wrath."

Stan let out a sigh. "Fine then…I'll tell you why…"

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I know! This has one helluva chapter! 32 PAGES! I know it took awhile to update, but there was a lot of stuff going on. Well, I hope your eyes don't get blurred from all this reading. The RP author's notes WILL return next chapter. I didn't use them due to the time I have.

I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I worked really hard to write all this. Also thank Ravens for the tremendous editing job she has to do for this chapter. And of course thank Katy, for without her, I doubt I would be even writing this fic at all. So please R/R! It took so long to write so a couple of reviews would be nice Well c ya next chapter

Next Chapter: After revealing his intentions for sabotaging Maxwell and Sandy's date, Stan runs off and finds himself alone. During this time he thinks back on his past. Was Stan truly keeping his promise or making a big mistake. Find out next time!


	6. A Tiger's Burden, Stan's promise

**Author's notes:** Sorry for taking so long to update the last chapter, but things have been kinda hectic lately. Don't worry though, cuz now I'm back in my writing mood. Last time, Stan was confronted by the ham-hams and must now confess his intentions for ruining Sandy and Maxwell's date. Will this reveal anything about his past? This is Burnfist signing off!

**Disclaimer:** I think I should stop writing the disclaimer because this point you already know that I don't own Hamtaro. Everything in this chapter is owned by Hamtaro, except for Stan and Sandy's mom, Jade, but they pretty much own that too. But I guess you could say I own Happy Pets Animal Shelter if it hasn't been built yet.

**Note:** Most of the chapter takes place in Florida (I'm not from Florida if you were wondering, but I do know someone who is…). The residence of most of the ham-hams currently (at least in this fic) is Tokyo, Japan. Don't ask me if that is truly where they're living though. They could be in Kyoto. They could be in Soko. Maybe even Hokkaido. All I know is that they're in Japan.

**

* * *

Chapter 6: A Tiger's Burden, Stan's Past**

The sun was almost setting, but none of the ham-hams cared. They had been listening intently to Stan's explanation of why he wanted to prevent Sandy from losing her innocence, about his promise to protect her, and anything that was related to his attempt to sabotage Sandy and Maxwell's date. After Stan finished, everyone was quiet for awhile. They didn't knowhow to respond to something soradical.Then finally Howdy broke the silence.

"Yer friggin' crazy! So yer telling us that you wanna stop their date cuz ya think Maxwell will go all horny on her!"

Dexter, as usual, conflicted Howdy's words. Either way, his thoughts on Stan's actions were the same. "I think it would be quite illogical for Maxwell to do that Sandy. After all, he knows very well that Sandy could easily kill him on the spot if tries anything funny."

"Sure…that is if she didn't love him so much…" Stan muttered back. His tone was a lot more sarcastic. Then again, hisday was nothing more thana hectic hurricane of beatdowns coming from unknown forces."Besides, I'm afraid of something happening to her. I mean, after all, she's my only family left…" Everyone else felt sorry for Stan, in a way. While he was trying to stop their date, he was only concerned, and like he said, Sandy was all he had left.

Panda then decided to speak up for the ham-hams. "I understand how you feel. I'm guessing we'd all feel a bit suspicious if something was going on with the ones we love. But Stan, aren't you taking this a little far?"

"Far…? I don't think so…" Stan stared at the entire group of ham-hams, as if one of them were about to spring on him. "I made a promise to protect Sandy no matter what! Maxwell's a nice ham and all…but I'm afraid to leave Sandy in his paws. A scared bookworm can't possibly take care of my sister…"

"That is not true!" Bijou stood up and rebuked him.She, as well as Pashmina, knew that the couple was too strong for anything that came in their way."You may not have seen it happen, but after we left the ham-ham ranger show, Sandy was missing, and when Maxwell found out, he went out of his way to find her."

Stan's eyes widened. _Are we talking about the same Maxwell here!_

"Bijou's right." Hamtaro said. "I don't think Maxwell would ever leave Sandy's side like that. He loves her too much to let anything happen to her."

"…You're all lying…aren't you…?" Stan wouldn't believe it at all. Listening to them talk about how Maxwell was strong enough to protect Sandy was making him sick. To him, he was onlyone who could protect her."You really think you could trick me by saying that wimpy bookworm would rush off to find Sandy like that? Maxwell can hardly do anything but read…"

"Maybe it's you who's unfit to take care of Sandy!" Stan's eyes shot wide open after hearing that from Boss.Stan gave Boss a deadly glare. One that would have any normal ham ham begging for his life, but Boss wasn't the type who would let thatglare scare him. "Doesn't she deserve some freedom? She's been living without you for awhile. I doubt Sandy would let anything like that happen, and Maxwell's too dedicated to her to let anything like that happen. Are you sure…you're keeping your promise?" Suddenly a punch came at Boss, but he blocked it. Stan's ferocity has reached the breaking point. Anytime now, he could spring on Boss and kill him.

However, Stan simplygrowled and turned his back on them. He ran off, wanting to be as far from them as possible.

Pashmina obviously felt very sorry for him. "Are you sure that wasn't too harsh, Boss?"

Boss shook his head. "No. He needs something like that to wake him up. He needs some time alone to think about what he's doing. Maybe he'll finally realize that he shouldn't interfere with Sandy and Maxwell's relationship." Everyone agreed with Boss' suggestion. Maybe it was best if Stan had some time to himself to recuperate.

"Wow. It looks like Boss is being serious for once."

"Of course I'm being serious! And what are you still doing here anyway, Sparkle!"

"Hey, I'm a ham-ham too, aren't I!" Yet another argument erupted.

Sweat drops were running down the other ham-ham's heads.

"Those two are becoming another 'Howdy and Dexter'…" said Oxnard. Everyone agreed. Them arguing all the time made it seem like they were a different version of Howdy and Dexter. Sometimes it felt like they were even worse than those two.

"Hey, what are you all doing here?" Everyone turned around to see Sandy and Maxwell running towards them, carrying Cappy and Penelope. They had just come back from their little 'love scene'.

"Oh, nothing." said Pashmina. "Let's go."

Somewhere, still in the carnival, Stan was by himself, thinking about everything that had happened up until now. He couldn't bare what Boss had just said to him. _'Can't keep my promise'? He's wrong…they're all wrong…I'm doing exactly what Mom wants me to do… _But soon a little doubt came to mind. Then he closed his eyes and thought back to when he saw a tiger more ferocious than him or his sister: His mother.

Flashback-

The place: Happy Pets Animal Shelter in America. While it certainly looked happy to an onlooker, the place was actually quite grim to most animals. The animals weren't abused or anything, but the area still had a rather gloomy feel to it.However, most of the animals tried to make the best of things, especially the hamsters. In fact, in one part of the animal shelter, a couple of girl hams were petting a little tiger-striped boy ham.

"Aw, look at him! He's so cute!" said a giddy girl ham. "We should take him back to our cage."

"Yeah." replied her friend, who just as giddy. "Maybe he'll brighten up our place." The young boy ham's smile grew upon hearing that. He obvioiusly had something planned for the girls._Oh, I'll do more than that…_

Then…

"Stanley!" Another girl ham hugged him. She turned out to look almost exactly like him, but with more creamy white fur. Her young appearance made it seem like she was a younger sister, but when she hugs him, ham ham think they are something else. Something that would make Stan furious.

"Aw… Looks like he's taken." Groaned the girl hams as they walked off. They were quite disappointed in seeing the cute boy ham belonging to another.

Stan was obviously very peeved. His chance to get a girl ham had been shattered yet again."Sandy! Augh, just when I really had those girls going! And it's Stan, not Stanley! Man, why did you have to do that?"

"Aw…but I, like, wanna play with you!"

"Later!"

"Now!"

Stan smacked his forehead in annoyance. This was the fourth time this week that Sandy had driven a girl away from him, not to mention she'd been saying his full name loud enough for everyone to hear. However,everytime he'd refuse to play with Sandy, she'd begin to cry and whine, leaving Stan no choice but to play with her. To him, Sandy, his twin sister, was nothing more than a big annoyance. In fact, it was almost as if she were a younger sister to him, always crying, being rowdy, and messing up his girl hunts.

Finally after they had played, Stan was ready to try another girl hunt. He seriously needed a better hobby. "Alright, now that I've played with you, I'm gonna leave you with Mom. I need a little me time now." But just as Stan was about to leave…

"Dinner's ready!"

"Dinner!" Sandy rushed off to the cage. Stan was really irritated at this point. Right when he was about to have fun, he had to go to dinner.

"Stan! You'd better get here before Sandy eats your veggie-o's!" Stan sighed and headed for the cage. After all, this was the one person he'd rather not piss off. His mom…

After dinner was finished, Stan and Sandy were bathed by their mother. A full grown hamster, their mother, like her children, looked like a tiger. Almost like an older Sandy without the ribbon.

As she happily cleaned their fur, their mother asked them, "So what have you two been doing today?"

"Oh, we were just having fun!" Sandy said. "Stan was having fun with his girl hunts, and then we played together, and and…" Stan cringed as Sandy gave away his 'hobby'.

"Oh, You're just like your father, Stan…" His mother said with a sigh. Stan cringed again. He knew exactly where this conversation was going. _I bet right now Sandy's gonna say…_

"Tell me a story about Daddy, Mommy!" Sandy happily urged her mother. Stan smacked himself in the forehead. _I knew it…Geez…not the story again!_

"Alright!" Their mother replied as she dried them. "Hop into bed and I'll tell you." A weird thing to say, considering that their "bed" was right on the woodchips, but Sandy got into her sleeping position, wanting to hear the story.

Sandy's mother cleared her throat before she began. "Long ago, there was a boy ham. He was a white hamster with blue tiger stripes."

"That's Daddy!" Sandy exclaimed happily.

"Very good!" Her mother nodded. "He was a big flirt, just like your brother, but would do anything for the ham-hams around him. He believed that if you help someone, you get something back in return…and he was always hoping for a girl. His motto was 'If I help someone…I'd better get a chick out of it!" Sandy giggled hearing that last line. "But his wish eventually came true. Because one day, he saw a girl ham being attacked by a couple of evil ham-hams. Luckily, he was there to save her from those ham-hams. He ripped right through those guys like a real tiger and saved her."

"And that girl ham was you, right?"

"Yep! The first thing your father said to me was, 'Would you like to bear my child?' And the first thing I did was slap him in the face." Both Sandy and her mother giggled. Even Stan laughed a bit. Then their mother continued. "But as time passed, the only girl ham your father would follow was me. He kept asking me if I could bear his child, but I kept refusing. However, with each day, I grew to love him. And then…we finally did it…" Their mother giggled as she remembered every single moment.

"Did what?"

"Erm…nothing…" Sandy's mom nervously replied, not wanting to Sandy to know what she meant by 'did it'. "Anyway, after that everything was perfect. We lived happily, and soon…we got two little bundles of joy that I couldn't be more proud of."

"That's me and Stanley, right?" Stan cringed as Sandy once again used his real name.

"That's right. Now I think it's time for some shut eye." Sandy's mom told her.

"But what happened to Daddy? How come he's not here?"

"Well…he needed some time on his own. He really needed to go out and explore. I wanted to go with him, but it would be dangerous if I brought you two along, so we stayed here while he wandered off."

"I hope we…see him again someday…" Sandy uttered with a yawn as she quietly drifted to slumber.

Her mother smiled at her cute and loveable daughter. "So do I…"

"Did you have to make up that excuse to her?" Stan questioned his mother. "She's just as old as I am. There's no need to keep the secret from her…"

"Oh, Stan…I know how you feel…" His mother comforted him. "But she can't know…I wish that story really was true too…" Then she changed subject. "Stan…"

"Yeah, what is it?"

"Would you take care of her for me?"

Stan shook his head. "No way! She's always getting in my way and bothering me, I can't take it!"

His mother giggled. "That's exactly what your father would've said…but Stan, I won't always be there to take care of the two of you. One day, I'll be gone, and it'll be just the two of you. I'm sure Sandy will mature into a beautiful young girl ham one day who can take care of herself. But until then…please take care of her."

Stan sighed. "Ugh…fine…but I won't like it…" Stan lied down right next to Sandy and fell asleep.

Their mother smiled, seeing the twins together. _I know that day is coming soon, Stan. Please take good care of her…_

The next morning, a couple of the older hamsters were having a bit of fun talking to each other. Among the hamsters was Stan and Sandy's mom.

"…and then my husband had the nerve to say 'would you like to bear my child?' And I slapped him for it." All the ham-hams laughed. Stan and Sandy's mom was pretty popular around the shelter. She was a little younger than most of the adult hamsters but she was very popular around them. She seemed to understand everyone around her.

"Well, you certainly know how to make us laugh, Jade." said another hamster. "But, you know, I worry about you. You've been here for quite awhile and haven't gotten a new owner."

"Well…those guys didn't want me…yeah, they thought I wasn't cute at all…" Jade pouted. But the other ham-hams already knew what had happened.

"Jade…you're an extremely cute hamster that everyone wants…but how do you expect to get adopted if you bite every single person who tries to adopt you?" Her friend hit it right on the mark. Jade, while only looking like a tiger, was known to act like one towards the humans who would try to adopt her. She'd growl and bite any unsuspecting human. While she tried to be more gentle towards children, many of the parents still refused to adopt her.

"Well…I haven't found the right human, that's all."

"Jade if you keep this up, you'll end up facing the 'big needle.'" Everyone gasped in fear when her friend mentioned grim reaper of all hamsters. At the end of every two months, the shelter would check all the animals. If there were any animals that sinceforth hadn't been adopted, they wound up subjected to the quick and painful death of being put to sleep, AKA 'the big needle'.

"So?" All of them gasped again. Many thought Jade was crazy, there was no hamster alive who wanted to be subjected to the big needle. "Well, it's time I go back to check on my children."

"Jade…" She turned back to her friend. "What about your children? What happens to them if you die?"

Jade had no choice, she had to tell them the truth. "Would you rather be separated from your own children, never to see them again?" Silence fell on the entire room. "Exactly. If I can live with them as long as I can happily, I will have no regrets. Even if I die, their youth will find themselves new owners or maybe even be able to leave this animal shelter. I won't let them stay in here any longer."

Just as Jade was about to leave, her friend spoke up again. "But then if you're gone…who's going to take care of them?"

Jade chuckled to herself. "Oh, don't worry about that. I'm covered." And with that, Jade left for her cage.

Later that day, the twins were playing happily in the cage. Or at least Sandy. Stan wasn't too thrilled about her messing up his girl hunts again. Then a couple of foot steps were heard.

Jade easily recognized the sound. _They're here… _She turned to Stan and Sandy. "You know the drill, you two."

"Yup!"

Coming out of the shadows in the long hallway was a man wearing the Happy Animals coat and a family of four. When they got to the cage labeled 'Jade', they saw Jade playing with two little fur balls that were similarly to her fur pattern.

"Oh, that's so cute…" said one girl.

"She'll make the perfect guard." said the brother.

"Yeah right! She's gonna be a pretty a lil hamster."

"No way! She's gonna be my guard dog!"

"She's not even a dog!"

"So!"

As the argument dragged on, Jade couldn't help but laugh. Every time they performed this drill, Stan and Sandy would be giggling happily as they were tossed into the air. Sandy especially enjoyed it. To her, it felt like she was flying. Of course, the problem was that they had to stay rolled up until the humans left. They didn't know why their mother would make them do this, but it was fun, so they didn't complain.

"Don't worry kids, it'll be over soon." Her mom reassured them.

"No! Keep going Mommy!" Sandy obviously loved this. Then Sandy shrieked when she felt cold fingers pick her up. "Mommy!"

"Sandy!" Both Jade and Stan were extremely worried at this point, seeing Sandy being held by the Happy Pets employee. Not only could the worker throw her away, but if Sandy were to get out off her 'furball form', he could end up putting her in another cage far away. Jade was not going to let that happen.

"What kind of toys are these?" The worker should've regretted ever touching Sandy, for he soon felt a small puncture on his hand. He yelped in pain and dropped Sandy, who somehow remained rolled up as a fur ball. The worker shook his hand furiously in pain. When he was finished, a small wound was on his hand. However he didn't care, knowing that Jade would never stop biting him.

The parents had obviously seen enough. "Alright children, we'd better find another pet. One that wouldn't hurt it's owners…"

"But Mom!"

When they were all gone, Jade turned to her two fur balls. "Alright kids, the coast is clear." At that moment, the two fur balls unfurled and sitting there were the twins.

"I'm so dizzy…" Sandy stumbled as she tried to straighten herself up. "Hee… Let's do that again!" Stan dropped to the floor once again, anime style.

That night, Jade was listening quietly as she heard several humans conversing with each other. She knew that the topic of their debate was her.

"But we can't! She's so young compared to most of the hamsters."

"I don't care! She'll never get herself adopted. Every time someone gets near her, she bites, scratches, or does anything to scare them away. I've had it with her. Besides, we have to make space for more animals."

"But it's not even that time!"

"We're putting her to sleep tomorrow and that's final! Do I make myself clear?"

Soon the two humans left and turned out the lights. Despite hearing all that, Jade remained perfectly calm. At this point, she already knew she'd be put to sleep. All she could do is prepare for not only her fate…but the fate of her children. Then…

"Why?" Jade turned around and saw Stan, wide awake. However this time, the usually composed Stan was in tears. "Why are you always doing this? You know you're facing the 'big needle' tomorrow. If you just got yourself adopted…"

That's when Stan felt great warmth. The type of warmth you'd feel when your mother hugs you…

"You don't understand, Stan." Now even Jade was in tears. "I don't fear death at all. I can easily face my own death, but what I can't face, what I truly fear, is being separated from you…"

"But we won't be separated! When we get out of here, we'll somehow find each other. I promise I will. I'll even take care of Sandy like I promised. I swear it! Just don't die, okaa-san…" Jade then held Stan's head and tilted it so that they could see each other, eye to eye.

Despite the tears streaming down her fur, Jade was still smiling. "I know. We can never be separated as a family, but I can't trust you with the humans here. You two need to find freedom and a human who will take care of you as well as I have."

"But there's no such freedom…"

"Stan…you've seen birds before right?" Stan nodded. Jade then continued. "'Birds have the freedom to fly through the sky…but what if there's no branch for them to perch on? If that were to ever happen, they would regret having wings in the first place…' That's something your father once told me. 'Freedom, in the truest sense, is actually having a home to return to.' Just like a ribbon…" Jade smiled again. She began to recall a toy she once played with in her youth. "A ribbon flows through the air gracefully and freely, as long as there's a hand to play with it…"

Stan imagined it. He saw that ribbon in the flowing freely through the sky. He wished he could be free just like it. Just then in his thoughts, he looked down to see who was waving it, and it turned out to be someone he didn't expect. _Sandy…? _The scene was shook out of his mind as he felt his mother's paw tapping his shoulder.

"Stan, I've got something for you and your sister." Jade walked over to the corner and pulled out a box. She blew off the wood chips on the box and opened it up. Stan's eyes widened in awe as he saw what was in it: in the box were two items. One was a pair of green chrome like maracas that sparkled brightly. The other was a simple, but beautiful pink ribbon. Stan reached in a took the maracas, shaking them a bit to test them out. "Think of them as early birthday presents." His mother smiled as Stan soon began to run all around and shake his maracas like there was no tomorrow.

"Oh thank you, Mom!" Stan exclaimed. After playing around, he stopped to ask her something. "Is this ribbon for Sandy?"

Jade nodded in reply, smiling happily as he handed him the ribbon. "I'm giving it to her for a reason. Like what I said earlier, I want you to protect her, but… please don't be too hard on her. Let her live her life to the fullest. Just like the ribbon I'm giving her."

Stan turned around to see Sandy, sleeping like a baby. For the first time in his life, he felt some pride being her brother. He smiled as she began to toss and turn, giggling in her sleep. He then turned back to his mother. "Don't worry, Mom. I promise to take good care of her. I won't let you down."

His mother smiled happily, nearly forgetting that this would be her last night. "Alright, off to bed now Stan. You have a busy day tomorrow."

Stan nodded and curled up into sleeping position. Just before closing his eyes, he stared at Sandy one final time. _I won't be like last time. This time I'll take care of you. And I'll always be there to protect you…no matter what. I'll make sure that you life your life free, just like the twirling and whirling of a ribbon. Twirling…whirling…_

The next day…

"GEEZ…HOW THE HELL CAN YOU LIGHT A FIRE WITH TWO TWIGS!" Stan snapped the two twigs and shoved to the ground. It's been about a few hours since he and Sandy had left the murky halls of Happy Animals. Currently, they were resting near palm tree. Well actually, Sandy has been asleep the whole time. Stan had to carry her all the way here, but that didn't matter to him. What mattered was getting as far from the shelter as possible. He could never forget what happened:

A few hours ago, Jade put her plan into action. She made Stan and Sandy (who was still asleep) come together to form a humongous fur ball. When the workers came, one of them took the ball away, seeing as how she wouldn't need a toy at this point. As the worker moved, Stan could hear what was going on. It sounded as if a bunch of zoo keepers were trying to recapture a tiger. He could see that Jade wasn't going to give up quite so easily. She kept hissing at them, warning the workers about her attacks until they finally got her and pinned her down. Stan couldn't bear to see it, but he could still hear her last squeal…

"Mmmm…" Stan turned around. Sandy had finally awaken from her long slumber. For the first time in his life, he was glad Sandy slept in. There was no way he wanted her to see what had happened. "Stan…? Whoa, like, wow! How pretty!" Sandy took in what was in front of her: miles of sand and palm trees, the clear ocean, pretty shells in front of her. To her, it was absolutely gorgeous. And above, she could see the sun smiling down on her as she was basked in light. Sandy loved it all. "Stan! Mom! Come here and see all this!" Sandy looked around but no one was there but Stan. "Mom…?" She walked over to Stan "Hey Stan, where's mom?" Stan couldn't stand to ruin this moment. He couldn't tell her the truth, so he put his paw on her shoulder and gave it to her straight.

"Sandy…mom…left to go find dad." Stan sighed. He didn't know if this would work. "Mom wanted to go find him…so we could live happily as a family. So, for now I'm in charge, alright?"

Sandy remained silent for a second and said, "Okay. Well, we'd better wait here for her. I'm, like, totally glad she went out to look for him. I want our entire family to be back together again…"

"Heh…yeah…" Stan shook his head. He decided to change the subject. "Hey, let's go and play!"

"But Stan, don't you wanna go on a girl hunt?"

"Yeah, well I uh…" Stan sighed and put his paw on Sandy's shoulder. "Well I guess I've gotten tired of it…So, do you wanna play or not?"

"Yippee!" Just as Sandy was about to go near the ocean, Stan quickly gripped Sandy's paw, while other paw was behind his back. "Stan?"

"I'm not stopping you Sandy, but…" Stan slowly moved his other paw and Sandy was amazed at what she saw; a pink gymnast ribbon wand. The ribbon swayed and flowed like a majestic flag, flowing as free as the wind itself. It's shades of pink twinkled in Sandy's eyes, like a prism. Stan saw the admiration for the ribbon in her eyes. Smiling, he finally gave it to her, leaving Sandy breathless. "There's no need to thank me, Sandy. It was something that Mom wanted to give you. She was in a hurry, so I'm just delivering it for her."

It didn't matter to Sandy. It was Stan who was giving it to her right now, so even if Jade was the one who got it for her, she thanked Stan greatly with a big warm hug. "Oh thank you…onii-chan…"

A slight tint of red emblazoned Stan's face. Stan looked up at the clear, blue sky, thinking of the one person who sacrificed herself for their future. _Don't worry, Mom. I'll take care of Sandy just as you would... I promise._

…

"I can't wait to see what it looks like!" Sandy exclaimed, viewing the sites of Florida from a car window.

"Yeah!" Stan was just as excited. Maybe even more, considering he was running around their new cage. _Alright! We hit the jackpot!_

It had been nearly two months since they escaped Happy Pets. They had enjoyed their new home near the beach. While the rising tides were occasionally dangerous, they were able to make their way around them. It was fun exploring the beach, seeing new shells and animals. The palm trees provided the two of them with a suitable home and because many go to the beaches often, they would sneak food out of the picnic baskets. However, it didn't last. Unfortunately, during one of their picnic raids, a man had spotted them and picked them up. Even worse, he was a Happy Animals worker on vacation. Lady luck was smiling on them, though, for a passerby noticed him picking up the two and asked if she could pet them. When the worker mentioned that the twins had no owner, she became giddy and asked if she could keep them. And so, Stan and Sandy belonged to a new owner: Hillary, a rhythmic gymnastics medalist who happened to be performing in Florida. After signing the papers, Stan and Sandy officially belonged to her.

After the long ride, Hillary picked up Stan and Sandy's cage and went inside a hotel. Stan and Sandy were dazzled by the many fancy decorations inside, but they felt it was a little too fancy for the tastes. Ironically, Hillary felt the same thing. She then took her card key out and opened her room. Now THIS was more like it. While it was definitely very clean, the place had a nice view, which overlooked Stan and Sandy's former home. The room smelled fresh and just the look of it made them feel comfortable.

"This is it, you guys!" Hillary finally told them. She opened their cage and let both of them come to her palm. They climbed on her hand, and she brought them up so they could face her. "You two are so cute! I love those tiger stripes of yours! Well…welcome to your new home…_temporarily…_"

…

"And there it is again! A perfect performance from Hillary, representing Japan!" Went the announcer on TV.

"Alright Hillary!" Sandy cheered as she blazed through the cage, twirling her ribbon as she went. It had already been six months since they moved in. Stan and Sandy had started to get used to living with Hillary. Hillary was like a second mother to them. After her performances or practices, she'd always bring home something new for Stan and Sandy. She especially loved Sandy because she'd always attempt to do all of Hillary's moves. The first several tries, she messed up her routine. Stan, of course, laughed at her pitiful attempts and Hillary would giggle, thinking she was doing something silly, like banging her head against the cage. However, after merely one day, she was able to perform many different moves, some of which were dubbed impossible for any hamster to do. Both Stan and Hillary were impressed with what Sandy could do, which encouraged Stan to perform some stunts to keep up with her. Hillary was proud of her two athletic hamsters.

"Hell yeah!" Stan followed Sandy in pursuit, shaking his maracas wildly. "Go Hillary! You took 'em down again!"

"Wow. You two are sure happy today." The twins shrieked and turned around, sighing a breath of relief. It was only Hillary, back from a long, tiring day. "I've got some good news you two: we're going home today!" The twins had that confused look all over their face. They thought this was already Hillary's house. "I bet you two are too used to living. Sorry, but I don't live here at all. We're only staying here for the tournaments. We're actually going to be living in Japan." Stan and Sandy, a little confused, were able to make sense of the situation, since Hillary would always let housekeeping come in and clean for her. Then the twins started to recall the land of the rising sun. Their mother said they were actually born there rather than here in Florida. "I hope you two can understand. Oh! Before I forget, I have something for the both of you." Hillary pulled out a bag, which read 'Toys 'R Weeee'. "It took me awhile to find something for you two to play with. You really can't find good hamster toys at a pet store. Well anyway, this is for you, Stan." She opened the cage and held out her palm. Stan slowly moved towards her hand, wondering what she had. Then Hillary slowly opened her hand and…

"WHOA! A skateboard!" Stan was so thrilled when Hillary revealed his present. It was a hamster sized skateboard with a pair of maracas similar on it. The little toy's chrome green color sparkled as the sunlight bathed it's surface. He always enjoyed watching skateboarders perform all kinds of tricks and always wanted to try it out. But, like Hillary said, hamster-sized skateboards aren't exactly the easiest to find. Stan was so filled with joy that he decided to try it out. He sped all over the cage on his skateboard, faster than a ham-ham running from a crazed cat. Sandy giggled a bit, seeing him truly happy for the first time (though she ends up getting annoyed by it later in the series…).

"I'm glad that you like your present." Hillary giggled. Then she finally turned to Sandy. "I'm sure you're dying to see what I have for you." Sandy could hardly contain herself. She couldn't wait. She looked up at Hillary and gave her the 'sparkly eyes look', the look that most ham hams, especially girl hams, would give in order to get what they want. Call it conceited, but when you see Sandy do it, you won't be able to resist. "Okay, okay. I'll get your present out. You're so unbearably cute, Sandy." After reaching in the bag again, Hillary held out her hand to reveal some hamster sized rhythmic gymnastics equipment. Sandy's eyes glittered and sparkled as she eyed her new equipment, which included a small ball, a pair of clubs, a hula hoop, a jump rope, and three more ribbon wands; one blue, one red, and another yellow (now you know where Sandy got all the stuff for the girl ham's performance in 'Let's Dance Sandy'.) "I was so surprised when you were able to perform some of my moves Sandy. I want you to have these so you can practice even more."

Sandy was so filled with joy and gratitude. She ran over to Hillary's hand…only to trip half way there. "Ouchichi…"

"Hey are you alright, sis?" Stan asked.

"Yeah." Sandy giggled. "It's probably just my tail."

"Your tail?" Stan looked down and sure enough, she was right. Most of the time, a hamster's tail is bare. However Sandy's was covered in fur, and had been growing recently, to the point where she'd been tripping on it. Stan sighed and helped her up. _Just like Mom…_

Hillary giggled and put the equipment down. Then she let out her hand again. "Come on Sandy. I've got something else for you." Stan nodded, allowing Sandy to climb up on Hillary's palm. Hillary smiled sweetly at the young girl ham. "I don't like to have favorites, but you're the one I'm proud of most, Sandy. You're always trying your best at rhythmic gymnastics, and every time I come home, I always see you sleeping quietly. So I want especially to give you this…but first, turn around and close your eyes." Most hamsters wouldn't understand a command like this, but Hillary and the twins, especially Sandy, had a special bond that could only be matched by certain owners. Hillary could talk to them, and they'd easily understand what she meant. So, Sandy turned around and did what she was told. Few minutes later, "Alright. Open your eyes and try to look at your tail." Sandy did as she was told and found a scarlet red ribbon on her tail. Sandy shook it a couple of times, watching the ribbon flow freely like her ribbon wand. Sandy couldn't help but smile at the ribbon which so brightly decorated her tail. Hillary then placed Sandy back in her cage and filled their food tray with sunflower seeds. "We have a big day tomorrow, you two. So, please get some rest." And with that, Hillary left the room.

Sandy felt overjoyed, and yet somehow, a little saddened. While she was happy for receiving so many presents from Hillary, she couldn't feel but sorry for Stan. It was almost as if he were left out. "Stan…"

"Yeah?"

"I'm sorry…"

"Heke? For what?"

"Well…Hillary was paying more attention to me, and…" That's when Sandy was interrupted by Stan stuffing a sunflower in her mouth. "Uggph-- W-what was that for!"

Stan chuckled. "Relax! Was that all, Sandy? Hillary's right, you're the one who fills her with joy. Y'don't need to be sorry about that."

Sandy giggled a bit and hugged Stan. "You're right…_Stanley…_"

"Would you quit calling me that!"

Later that night…

"Yeah…we're going back to Japan in two days." Hillary was staying up late, confirming her flight back home. "Oh! I got two hamsters while I was staying here, so I was wondering…hm? Yeah I have two ham--What! No! I can't do that! I just can't do that. Isn't there something you can…oh…I see…alright…I'll see what I can do…" After hanging up the phone, Hillary flopped over the couch, her hair plastering over her eyes trying to hide the expression in her eyes. She then turned and looked at the cage to see Stan still awake. This was a habit of his since day one, which allowed him to learn many dark secrets. Hillary walked over to the cage and opened it, then let out her hand, allowing Stan to climb up onto to her palm. "I'm sorry if I hadn't been paying too much attention to you, Stan." Stan simply chuckled to himself. _Eh, don't worry about it. You should be happy for Sandy. She loves you just about as much as Mom, after all. _"I care about you too, especially since you keep Sandy company while I'm gone. I don't know if I can do this, but…Stan, in two days Sandy and I will be leaving without you." Stan nearly snapped after hearing that last line. He'd been separated from both his mother and father, and now he was about to lose the only family he had left? "I wish there was some other way. I kept telling them that I can't separate the two of you, but they said that I can only travel with only one pet. I'm so sorry, Stan…" Suddenly, she felt a small tickle on her wrist. Stan was happily rubbing his fur against her skin, despite what he had heard. He continued to nuzzle her soft skin, making Hillary giggle a bit. Soon, Hillary's soft smile was back. "Thank you Stan."

Hillary placed Stan back in his cage, and went to bed. Stan smiled, knowing that his owner was happy again. _It ain't your fault, Hillary. I don't need to go home with you. As long as the two of you are happy, I'll be fine. As long as Sandy--_

That's when Stan heard sniffling from the cage. It seemed that someone else was still awake, listening to Hillary's conversation. He turned around and Sandy was there, tears coming from her eyes.

"Sandy, what's wrong?" Stan finally asked.

"Don't play dumb, Stan. I know what's going on. I overheard you and Hillary. The two of us are going to be separated!"

"Don't worry about that, Sandy! One day, I'll come over there and we'll find Mom and Dad again. We'll be a f--"

"Mom and Dad are dead!" Stan eyes widened as Sandy continued to cry her heart out.

"Where did you learn that, Sandy? C'mon, you know that's not true! They're just--"

"Don't lie, Stan! I've been listening to you and Mom, every night after she'd tell us that story. And I saw Mom being taken away when we were leaving the shelter. After all this time, I always tried my best to stay happy, because I know I still have one piece of my family with me. But now…we're going to be separated. We'll never see each other again!" That was when Sandy got up and hugged Stan, drowning his fur with her tears. Sandy couldn't take anymore of this. She'd already lost most of her family. If Stan wound up gone too, then she'd never be able to smile again. Then, she heard…Stan chuckling. Soon that chuckle turned into laughter, pissing Sandy off. "What's so funny!"

"I'm sorry, Sandy." Stan replied, trying to regain his composure. "But seriously, Sandy, is that all you're worried about? It's not like I'm gonna die! We'll see each other again!"

"But Stan--!"

"Look, you said it yourself. You've done your best to keep yourself happy all this time. Why can't you do it now?"

"Stan, you're my only family left and I--"

"I know what you mean." Stan interrupted her yet again. "I'm scared of losing you too. Everyday, I think about your safety…ever since Mom told me to take care of you." Stan paused to look Sandy straight in the eye. There was a calmness in his demeanor. "That night before Mom died, I made a promise to protect you at all costs, but she also promised me to make sure you're free to choose your own decisions. I can't go on bossing you around anymore. You have to go out and make your own friends."

"…You're just saying that so you can get your hands on another girl ham…" Sandy replied sarcastically.

"I haven't been doing it in awhile you know." Stan chuckled to himself. "But still, Mom wants me to make sure you live a free life. I can't keep that promise if you keep hanging around me like this."

Sandy thought about it for awhile. Stan is pretty much right, it would be best if her life were free. Still, there was one thing on her mind. "…but if I leave…aren't you going to be lonely…?"

Stan hadn't thought about that. He didn't realize that if Sandy were gone, Stan would be all alone. Not even Hillary would be there with him. It would be some new human friend of Hillary's. But despite all of those thoughts, Stan's smile remained bright. "Don't worry about it, Sandy. I'll be fine by myself. I think I need a bit of free time alone to think after all."

"Yeah, about how to get more girl hams."

"Wow, you're being a wise ass today, aren't you sis?" That's when Sandy got so furious that she tried to jump Stan. However, Stan dodged her charge and pinned to the ground. "Sorry about that comment, but don't worry about me. I'm more concerned about you." Stan picked her up and hugged her. "Just live your life freely. Don't worry about me. I'll always be with you."

"Oh, onii-chan…" Sandy started to cry. She was just so happy to have a brother like Stan who would risk all this just for her. Then at that moment, she heard a soft, soothing voice fill the room. She looked up. Stan, still hugging her, was singing a simple, but comforting melody. "Hey, onii-chan, what's that song you're singing?"

Stan smiled at her. It was almost as if he expected her to ask him. "I'm glad you asked. The night before Mom died, she gave me a ribbon. The ribbon that you've been dancing with ever since Mom's death was her final gift to you. When she gave it to me, she told me to let your life flow freely, just like a ribbon. When I thought about how the ribbon twirls through the air, I thought up a song. It took awhile for me to think it up, but you inspired me every time you played your ribbon. I don't think it's finished yet, though. It doesn't sound too good. I call it 'Twirling Whirling'"

"Onii-chan…could you sing it for me?"

Stan nodded and decided to sing for his sister.

Twirling whirling 'round we go  
Twirling high and twirling low  
See the colors skip and flow  
Twirling 'round we go

Twirling whirling 'round we go  
Twirling high and twirling low  
See the ribbons as they blow  
Twirling 'round we go

Twirling whirling 'round we go  
Twirling fast and twirling slow  
Twirling 'round we go  
Twirling whirling 'round we go

Twirling whirling 'round we go  
Life gets lonely yes I know

We'll be together sis and bro  
Twirling 'round we go…

"That was beautiful, onii-chan." Sandy sleepily applauded him.

"Yeah, I know. You'd better get to bed. We've got a big day tomorrow."

"Right. Oyasumi nasai, Onii-chan (Good night, big brother)."

"Oyasumi, Torahamu-chan (Good night, Sandy)."

One year later…

Twirling Whirling 'round we go

"Hmm…?"

Twirling high and twirling low

"That song!"

See the colors skip and flow

What the…did her voice crack or something? Stan opened his eyes. He had been sleeping for quite awhile and would've continued sleeping anyway. After all, not much had happened since he moved to Japan with his new owner, Noel. He was able to see Hillary again, along with a couple other cute girls, but after all this time, he couldn't find his sister. But this could be it. He could--no. Looked like he was out of luck after all. Once he opened his eyes, what he thought was his sister turned out to be a boy ham with orange and white fur. Stan, confused and angry that a boy ham could pose as his sister, strangled the poor ham (just a redone version of that very same episode). "Alright kid, where did you learn that song?"

"I know Sandy looks like a tiger, but are you sure her brother isn't a real one?" Oxnard yelped as he took cover.

"Wait, Sandy?"

"Yeah." Hamtaro replied as he slipped out of Stan's grasp. "I'm Hamtaro and that's Oxnard. Our friend, Sandy has been looking all over for you."

"Yeah, she's been singing her heart out, just for you." Oxnard added.

So Sandy has been really worried about me, even now… "Heh, can't blame her for that. Well then, we'd better get going! Right Red? How 'bout you, Ox?"

"Did you just call me Red…?"

"I'm Ox?"

…

"So she's been having a great time without me?" Stan asked Maxwell. The two boy hams were discussing what had been going on since Sandy made it to Japan. Maxwell told him everything, from the day he saved her from the cats to the recent autumn festival where she and the rest of the girl hams stole the gold from the competition.

"You didn't have to worry about her." Maxwell reassured him. "She's a very optimistic girl. It'd be kind of weird if she were to get depressed, so we do our best to keep her happy. In return, she gives so much joy."

"Seems like you like my sister." Stan teased Maxwell.

Maxwell began to blush. "N-no, it's not like that! Really!"

"Are you sure? It seems kinda odd that a sporty girl like my sister would talk so much about a bookworm." Stan continued to tease Maxwell. He did, however, eye Maxwell suspiciously.

"Well…I guess you could say--"

"Hey Maxy!" The two turned around. Sandy was running up to them, waving her hands in the air. She seemed quite happy to see Maxwell.

"Oh it's Maxy now, huh sis?" Stan teased Sandy.

The couple blushed furiously, but Sandy was the one that bitterly resented Stan's accusation. "Stan! You're, like, embarrassing Maxwell and me!" She then turned to Maxwell. "So, what were you two talking about?"

"Oh…nothing." Maxwell replied.

"Oh whatever." Sandy took Maxwell's paw. "I…need to talk to you for a few minutes…"

Stan saw an opportunity to tease the couple again. "If you two are gonna make out, go do it at Acorn Mountain!"

"Acorn Mountain?"

Stan's eyes widened. After all, no one was supposed to even learn of the acorn filled area. _Oh no…that was supposed to be my secret! _"Oh nothing. I'd better be going now!" Stan dashed right out of the room. However, Sandy wasn't going to let him off so easily.

"Get back here and tell me where Acorn Mountain is!"

End of Flashback-

The sun was setting, as the rest of the ham-hams headed for the parking lot. The depressing mood from earlier had faded, as everyone acted normally. Boss and Sparkle were still arguing, along with Howdy and Dexter. Oxnard and Pepper were sleeping in the cart, while Hamtaro and Panda were busy discussing what had been going on to Maxwell.

"I see…" Maxwell replied. They had told him about Stan and what his big plans were. Ironically, he felt a little sympathetic towards Stan. After all, they were both boy hams that loved Sandy dearly. Stan being her brother was the only difference. "I can see why he would be upset. After all, he is Sandy's brother."

"Maxwell, I know how you feel," Panda began. "but he is taking it too far, right?"

Maxwell shook his head. "He's kind of right, in a way. Lately, I'd get this kind of tingling sensation every time I'm with Sandy. Today was just a very passionate kiss, but I'm afraid of what would happen later. I do love Sandy, but I don't want to cause her or her family any trouble." It was true. His recent interactions with his girl ham, have caused a tingling sensation. A burning desire to bring him closer to Sandy. However, this sensation, if seen, may cause dire consequences and trouble between families.

Hamtaro finally spoke up. "Yeah, but I think Panda's right. I'm sure that you and Stan can talk this out, right? Besides, I'm sure Sandy wants to know what Stan has been doing lately."

Maxwell shook his head again. He felt that he could trust to pull out on his own. "No. After what Boss said to him, he's probably contemplating his situation. He'll come around, don't worry." Maxwell paused for a minute. Suddenly, his calm demeanor turned into a frown. "There is a bit of problem though."

"What is it, Maxwell?"

"I was wondering if…"

Meanwhile…

"So you finally kissed him!"

Sandy nodded and her face was totally painted in red. While she wanted to tell the girl hams the entire story about their romantic encounter, she decided not to. Just the mention of the kiss was embarassing enough. Telling them that they were drenched and cuddling each other during their passionate kiss would totally embarass her to no end.

"Alright Sandy!" All the girl hams congratulated her on her success. Despite this being Sandy'saffair, they were almost in charge of her love life, or at leasthow she wanted to run it. Call them matchmakers if you want, but they were pretty good at it."We knew you could do it!"

"Ookwee!"

"Oh stop it, you're, like, embarrassing me!" Sandy replied, turning away to hide her blush.

"It's alright, Sandy." Pashmina told her.She gave Sandy a couple of pats on the back."We're just so happy that you were able to finally kiss your boyham."

"Oui! I could never do that with H--" That's when Bijou cut herself off and turned herself from the rest of the girl hams. A bit of blush cover her face.

"It looks like Bijou has crush too, right Penelope?"

"Ookwee!"

"Anyway, the date is over now." Sandy said with a sigh.

The girl ham's eyes widened. "Why?"

Back to Maxwell…

"You're out of money!"

"Yeah…" Maxwell muttered. "We've did so much today that I ended up spending a lot."

"Geez…how much money did you two spend?"

"Well…I kind of forgot, but…" At the same time, Sandy and the rest of the girl hams came out of their hiding spot. "Oh, hey Sandy! Do you remember what we spent our money on?"

"Yeah!" Sandy replied. "First, we spent money on the food we weren't able to eat. Then we paid for a movie we couldn't watch, not to mention snacks we didn't eat. Plus, we had to wash off at the gas station. And then we went to the arcade."

That's when Dexter interjected. "I don't think the arcade quite counts. How much money could a couple of games cost?"

Both Sandy and Maxwell remained completely silent. It was pretty obvious now.

"You've gotta be kidding me!" Sparkle shouted. "How the hell could you spend so much money!"

"Well, DDR isn't exactly the cheapest of games to play…" Maxwell uttered. "Either way, our date pretty much ends here, so where would you guys like t--"

"Wrong!" Everyone looked at the incredibly enthusiastic girl hams. "You're date isn't over yet!"

"It's not?"

Pashmina pulled out something from her scarf. "Of course not. It's only sunset. Why end it now, when your date can continue throughout the night? Besides, I got these, everyone!" Pashmina then flashed out what looked like…

"Tickets to the Minihamuzu concert!"

"Yup. Front row seats, too! Bijou and I spent hours trying to find these."

"Oui. We reserved the entire front row for all of us." Bijou replied.

Sparkle sighed, muttering, "How come you never show up at MY concerts…?"

"Because we'd rather listen to anyone sing than you." Boss muttered to himself.

Unluckily for Boss, Sparkle heard him. "What the hell did you just say!"

Either way, this day was apparently not going to end anytime soon, so Sandy and Maxwell agreed to go with them. As they headed for the concert, Sandy reached into the hidden compartment of the car.

"I can't wait!" Sandy exclaimed. "The concert will be--Oh no!"

Maxwell turned to Sandy. "What's wrong?"

"I--Maxwell, a car!"

"Yyaah--!" Maxwell swerved the car over to the side and stopped right there.

"Can't you guys drive properly!" Sparkle yelled at them.

Maxwell ignored Sparkle and faced Sandy, "What's wrong?"

"My ribbon wand…" Sandy cried. "My ribbon wand is gone…"

"Don't worry, we'll help you find it!" Maxwell reassured her as he tried to hiff it out.

"We can't waste too much time!" Pashmina urged them to hurry up. "The concert is starting in 30 minutes!"

Maxwell sighed. Their chances of reaching the concert before theconcert ended were slim."We don't have enough time, then."

That's when Hamtaro stood up. "How about we all try to find Sandy's ribbon?" Everyone turned to him. After all, he was the one who'd help you the most if you were in need, and his luck often pulled the ham hams through."I know that we're going to the Minihamuzu concert, but this is Sandy and Maxwell's special night. We all have to find her ribbon wand."

Bijou agreed with him. "Oui! We all have to help out!"

Boss stood up right after her. "Yeah, I'm in!"

"Me too!" Panda replied.

"Me three!" Pashmina responded.

"Ookwee!"

"I bet I can get a couple of the hams at ham-ham carnival and the movie theater to help search the place." Sparkle added.

Maxwell turned to everyone, grateful for their doing this for Sandy. "Thank you, all of you." All of the ham-hams nodded and hurried off to find Sandy's ribbon.

I can't believe I've lost it… Forgive me, okaa-san (mother)_, onii-chan _(big brother)_…_

* * *

Okay, everyone is probably wondering what happened to most of the fic. Well, the new rules made me take down all the song and chat/script portions, so yeah.Unfortunately, you'll never find out what Sandy's song will be, so sorry. However, admin.parts of the Twirling Whirling song were created by me, so don't take it down. Geez...you guys are so strict.Anyway,we're coming down to the conclusion.Yep, one chapter left, you guys! So prepare yourselves for the heart-wrenching conclusion of Aishiteru! 

**Next and Final Chapter:** In a race against time, the ham-hams must find Sandy's ribbon before the concert starts. When all hope is lost, a lost friend comes back with healed wounds. Will the ham hams make it in time and will Stan ever recover from his shock? Tune in next time for the final chapter of Aishiteru!


	7. My True Love My True Promise

**Author's notes: **I'm terribly sorry for the long wait. There's been so much going on lately. If you've been irritated by the long wait, I'm sorry. Ravens, my lovely editor, has been going through so much problems lately that I think I should be writing a fic for her. Also, her comp is messed up and it'll take awhile before she can get back on. I can probably guess that while it's being fixed, her copy of the fic will be erased, so I'll be finishing the fic. Hopefully, you'll like the ending. As for why I'm not continuing the whole 'Katy-chan's surprise party author's notes' is because admin's new rules forbid me from doing that. Oh well, at least they're not tearing down this fic. I hope by doing this, I will make my reviewers happy and most importantly: make Katy happy and give Ravens the break she rightfully deserves.

Last time, Sandy lost her ribbon and now the ham hams are on a frantic search for it. When all is lost, a certain someone, with healed wounds, comes to save the day. Will Sandy and Maxwell get the happy ending they deserve and will Stan ever recover from his shock? Read on and find out!

**Edited on November 22: **I have taken the liberty of revising the final scene as well as the ending notes. Now it looks…somewhat right.

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Hamtaro. You know that, right? Also, I don't own the Mini Hamuzu. Ravens owns the thugs.

**

* * *

Chapter 7: My True Love My True Promise: Sandy, Maxwell, and Stan's True Path**

"I'm sorry, Oxnard. I haven't seen such a ribbon."

"Thank you anyway, Chef Ham." About half an hour earlier, Sandy had realized the one thing she cherished most was gone: her twirling ribbon wand. Her loss made Sandy's heart ache as she cried out for the ribbon, and of all days, it had to be on her date with Maxwell. Luckily, everyone was willing to put everything they've got into finding Sandy's ribbon. In return, Maxwell opted to save their seats at the Mini Hamuzu concert. After everything was settled, the ham hams split themselves into groups and went into searching mode as they did their best to hiff out the ribbon. So far, Oxnard and Pepper turned up empty.

As they walked away from the restaurant, Pepper stomped her feet in disappointment. "Darn…and I thought we would find it here…"

Oxnard released a tired sigh from his mouth over the frustration of not finding the ribbon. Seeing that they had no other clues, Oxnard pulled out a walkie talkie and began to speak into it. "No luck over here at the restaurant!"

Responding to Oxnard was a fuzzy, high pitched voice coming through the speaker. It was still audible enough to hear the message, which was coming from Panda. "Don't worry, head back toward the carnival and wait for us there!"

"Okay! Oh I hope they can find Sandy's ribbon!"

Over at the gas station…

"Whooooweeeee!" Howdy pinched his nose as the foul odor of gasoline filled his nostrils. "That's the last time I tell fart jokes!"

"You shouldn't be telling ANY jokes, Howdy!" Dexter snapped back at the humorless hamster. Since Sandy and Maxwell washed off at the gas station right after running out of the restaurant, Howdy and Dexter volunteered to check there. However, it was impossible for them to sniff the ribbon out for their sense of smell had been impaired by the gas. Furthermore, Howdy's tasteless humor was driving Dexter to the brink of insanity. Finally, Dexter had given up on the search and pulled out the walkie talkie. "Panda, I'm sorry but we couldn't find—WHAT IN GOD'S NAME ARE YOU DOING, HOWDY!"

"WEEEEEEEEEEE! THIS IS FUN!" Howdy joyfully exclaimed in an incredibly high pitched voice. To Dexter's dismay, a large tank of helium was tucked under Howdy's arm. "LET'S SEE IF I CAN GET MORE OF THIS STUFF! IT'LL BE HILLARIOUS!"

"I guess…you didn't find the ribbon then…" Panda dully said over the intercom. "Just make sure you're all at the entrance of the Ham Ham Carnival…oh…and tell Howdy to stop inhaling all that helium!"

Dexter released a sigh, knowing that it would be impossible. "I'll try…"

…

At the movie theater…

"Outta the way! Star coming through!" Sparkle, despite the impatience of the crowd, forced the crowd of ham hams apart, allowing her to move through the halls of the movie theater. Following closely behind were Hamtaro and Boss.

"Geez…so arrogant and conceited…"

"Yeah, but at least getting in is much easier than before."

A few minutes later, the trio checked all of the screens in the security room. Thanks to Sparkle's status, they were able to get permission from the security guards to check any security cameras and gain the right to temporarily order the ushers and guards. Guess it pays to be friends with a star sometimes.

"Which movie were you watching when you lost it?" The security ham asked as he tinkered with the security cameras.

"The one called 'Boss Almighty'."

That's when Sparkle's eyes widened in surprise as she heard Hamtaro mention the name of the movie. "Isn't that the movie with…Boss and…" Suddenly, Sparkle flopped back and tumbled onto the floor. Her face was covered in a deep red blush.

"Geez…what's her problem?" Boss sighed, knowing that leaving the star on the floor was not a good idea. He then scooped her into his arms.

"I dunno." Hamtaro replied back, just as confused as Boss. Soon, an usher from the 'Boss Almighty' room came back and spoke with the head security guard. "So how did it go?"

The security guard, however, slowly shook his head. "Sorry mister, but we haven't seen a ribbon like that. The usher did find some taffy that looked like it on the floor. Would you like some?"

"N-no thanks!" Hamtaro chuckled nervously as he politely declined. He then took out his walkie talkie, and established protocol with Panda. "Sorry Panda, but it's not here."

"Damn…alright just head over to the Carnival. Cappy, Penelope, and I are already searching the arcade."

Hamtaro put away his walkie talkie and turned to Boss, letting out a sigh. "Well we'd better go."

"Alright…but first…CAN SOMEONE WAKE HER UP?"

…

"Alright, it's up to us now!" Panda told Cappy and Penelope. They had chosen to check the arcade for any trace of the ribbon. It was one of the two places left unchecked, so it was important that they find it quickly. "Cappy, take Penelope to the DDR section and check there!"

"Right!" Cappy obediently replied. Obeying Panda's orders, he took Penelope's paw and made their way towards the DDR section.

While the two chibi ham hams searched the DDR section, Panda tried to hiff out the ribbon in every other place Sandy and Maxwell played in. Luckily for him, the two spent most of their time at DDR, so Panda only needed to check the fighting game section, the prize game section, and anywhere near the prize grabber. But to no avail, nothing could be found. Panda then decided to regroup with Cappy at the DDR section. However, when he got there…

Our youngest couple was busy playing 'Candy' on one of the DDR machines.

"Wow! This is fun!" Cappy exclaimed as he danced to the beat of the catchy Japanese tune. Both he and Penelope, with their levels set on light, were doing pretty well for their first time. "I wonder why Boss had such a hard time learning how to play?"

"Ookwee…?"

"Cappy! Penelope! We're supposed to be trying to find Sandy's ribbon, remember?"

"Sorry Panda." Cappy apologized to Panda without taking his eyes off the screen. "Just one more game!"

Panda sighed and pulled out his walkie talkie, contacting their only chance left at finding the ribbon. "Bijou! Pashmina! None of us could find the ribbon! It's all up to you!"

"Oui!"

"Leave to us, Panda! We won't let Sandy down! We'll find it!"

"Good! We'll all be waiting at the front of the carnival! Good luck!" It was now or never. Everyone else had failed and time was running out. The only thing left for the ham hams to do was to put all their fate on the two girl hams.

…

Pashmina shut off her walkie talkie, and turned to the last place Sandy and Maxwell visited: the Ham Ham Carnival. Now that all the other ham hams failed, they were the only hope left for Sandy and Maxwell. Luckily for them, the carnival was sponsoring the Mini Hamuzu concert, so the carnival was pretty empty at this point.

"It looks like this last one rides on us, right Bijou?"

"Oui! We must find Sandy's ribbon at all costs!" With that said, Bijou pulled out her handy tool…which made Pashmina fall over in embarrassment.

"Bijou! We're looking for Sandy's ribbon, NOT to beat up more ham hams!"

Bijou, however, did not listen as she firmly grasped the flashlight in her paws. "I know that! What if some mean ham ham picked it up? We can't let them get away with it!"

Seeing that there was absolutely no way she could change her mind, Pashmina dragged out a long sigh. "Sandy's ribbon may be important, but who would just go up and take a ribbon?"

…

"…"

"Sandy?" Maxwell was starting to really worry about his girl ham as she began to feel distant from him. Ever since she lost her ribbon, she's been lost in total silence. While everyone went to look for Sandy's ribbon, Maxwell promised that he and Sandy would save their seats at the concert. After all, they were front row seats. Normally, Sandy would be so excited since all the ham hams loved the Mini Hamuzu, but the loss of her ribbon seems to have affected her altogether. It was as if the ribbon were her soul. "Sandy, please…everyone's looking for your ribbon. Don't be upset about it."

"I know…but…I can't help it…" Sandy cried. She bowed her head, allowing some of the longer fur to cover her eyes. "You see, that ribbon was my mom's final present before she died…and…the first present Stan ever gave me." It truly was important. The two most important hams in her life had given this to her as a token of their love and devotion to her. "I feel so stupid for losing it!" Suddenly, Sandy felt a soft fur brush against her face. She could feel that tingling feeling from before as a warm sensation surged throughout her body. As she looked up, she caught a glimpse of her lover. He had brought her into a warm and comforting embrace, one that made some of her worries fly away.

"Don't say that, Sandy. I know how much you feel about your ribbon. I would be upset too if I lost something that a parent or relative gave me, but please…you have to trust the ham hams. Everyone's looking for it…I'm sure even your brother is out there, looking all over for your ribbon. If I know him…" Maxwell paused as he began to hesitate. After all, he was talking about the very person who tried to break them up. However, this was also Sandy's brother and the ham ham who gave her the ribbon in the first place… "He'll be looking all over for it. He cares about you too much to let you down like this." He decided to shake off the hesitation and forget everything Panda said. This wasn't the time for Maxwell to doubt Stan for it wasn't about him. It was about Sandy. _It's true…he would rather die than see Sandy upset like this…he truly cares for her…_

"Maxwell…"

"Don't worry, just watch the concert. They'll be coming with your ribbon soon."

Being a little more confident about the other ham hams, Sandy allowed her lips to slightly curve into a smile. "Thank you, Maxwell." _I may still be upset…but Maxwell and Stan…are still with me…as well as everyone else. I have to keep believing in them. I know they can do it…I know they can find my ribbon…but… please mom…help them…_

Seeing the young girl ham finally smile caused Maxwell to smile down at her. Then, he slowly closed his eyes as he held Sandy tightly, pressing her to his chest. Then, in a solemn tone, he said something to himself, hoping that someone could hear it…

_Whoever is out there…please help the ham hams find her ribbon. It's important piece to her…as a reminder of two of the most important hams in her life. If there is someone out there who can hear me…anyone…please get her ribbon back to her!_

…

Back at the Carnival, Pashmina was having some trouble finding the ribbon. She and Bijou split up to cover more ground since the place was really big. However, Pashmina's search, so far, turned up empty, which ended up exhausting herself. _Where is it? I've looked all over and it's not there! _As she tried to catch her breath, she caught a glimpse of Bijou running up to her. When Bijou stopped, a trickle of sweat slid down her snow white fur as she tried to replenish her air supply. "Bijou! Did you find it?"

"No. I can't find it anywhere! You didn't find it either, no?"

"No! I've looked everywhere and I didn't even catch a glimpse of it!" The aggravated Pashmina groaned.

"Don't give up." Bijou urged her scarf-wearing friend. "We can't afford to quit now! Sandy's counting on us!"

"You're right! There's one section of the Ham Ham carnival we didn't check yet. Maybe we'll come across it there."

"Right! Let's go!"

Despite the boost in confidence, Pashmina was still very doubtful of their chances of finding it. This was there last chance to get it and everything was riding on that last chance. If they don't find it now…Pashmina didn't even want to know what would happen to Sandy if they couldn't find it. However, there was no way they were going to let Sandy down. _Is there someone out there that'll help us…anyone…?_

…

_Where am I…? What's going on…? _All was black in Stan's world to the point where it seemed like he was spiraling into a void of darkness. His mind was in turmoil after the events that had taken place earlier. He didn't know what to do anymore nor did he care about what was going on. He felt it no longer mattered what he was going to do, for Sandy no longer needs him. Maxwell had already replaced him as her brotherly figure. Then…

"_Have you really forgotten about me, Stan?" _Hearing that voice again, Stan slowly turned around. That voice brought a sudden nostalgia as his mind flooded with memories of his past. Finally, a sharp gasp escaped his mouth as he turned to face the voice's origin: it was a figure illuminated by the light. Within that light was a small hole; the size of a needle prick. It was apparent to Stan who it was…but he ended up laughing instead; laughing hysterically as if he were on the brink of insanity.

_Heh…I'm going crazy or something. She's dead. She's not here…It's probably some stupid dream… _However, he would soon regret saying that for within a few seconds, he felt something puncture his arm, leaving a bite mark when it was finally over. _GAAAAAAAAH! That actually hurt! So…this isn't a dream! That means…_

"_No, it's a dream." _The voice coming from the light echoed. "_Sometimes dreams can hurt you know, but that was rude of you to call this a 'stupid dream'. This dream is not stupid at all!"_

_Oh really? In a few seconds, you're gonna tell me to go back to Sandy and apologize, right? _Unfortunately, the answer he got back was the pain of his cheeks being stretched by luminous figure.

"_No. I'm gonna remind you of who you are first! Then I'll tell you to go back to Sandy! You can't predict everything I'm gonna do!"_

Once the figure let go of his cheeks, Stan sat back onto the ground and released a long sigh from his mouth, knowing exactly what the figure would say. _Yeah. I know what I am already…a complete failure…_

"_Nope! Wrong again! Just because you messed up doesn't mean you can't fix what happened." _

_Geez…be serious!_

"_I am serious! I just don't know why you have to be all serious when comes to Sandy's boyham." _

…

"_You forgot your promise…"_

In an instant, Stan bolted up from his place on the floor as his eyes became a deep red. An ominous glare was directed to the figure. _I did not forget! I've been trying all this time to stop Sandy from doing anything to hasty! I've spent my whole life trying to act as both a brother and a father to her, only to let her go to Japan without me! Now that I'm back, she has replaced me with a bookworm and is even becoming too attached to him! What I've been doing all along was my promise! My promise to keep her safe and innocent, but everything keeps going wrong! How can you say that I'm not keeping my promise!_

"_That's not what I'm talking about…I'm talking about the promise I truly wanted you to fulfill…" _

_And what promise would that be…?_

"_Don't you remember the ribbon your mother gave you on that day? The ribbon that you gave to Sandy? Don't you remember what she taught you?" _

That's when Stan lost his patience. _What is it! What about the ribbon? I don't understand it all! _It was hopeless for anyone to get through Stan at this point. His frustration in being unable to be there for Sandy has blocked out all reason from his mind. Then…

"…_Twirling Whirling round we go…" _Suddenly, Stan's eyes began to widen. The lyrics that filled his ears began to calm him down. It was the very song he created. _"Twirling high and twirling low. See the colors skip and flow twirling round we go."_ That's when the memories began to flood again. As the images began to burn, he realized what he was missing. All this time he made promises to Sandy, trying his best to keep her to himself. He promised to look out for her and keep her away from danger…but it went too far…and in exchange…

_I didn't keep my promise…I promised to guide and protect her…but I took it too far and restricted her freedom to the point where I forgot my other promise: the promise to allow her to live freely and grow-up to be strong. All this time, I kept lying to myself that I was doing the right thing…and here I am…finding out that I was really going against my sister, my friends, and my own mother…_

"_It's not your fault. When she died, you did your best to keep Sandy safe. After all, you never wanted to lose her…but remember what you told her the day she left for Japan: that you two will always be together and will always look out for each other, no matter what. Your decision set her free, and allowed her to make great friends. Because of you…she was able to meet Maxwell…a boyham who was able to comfort her while you were gone…Thanks to you, she has met the love of her life."_

_Oh…please don't kid me like that. All I did was let her go. She would've ended up in Japan anyway whether I liked it or not._

However, the figure would not allow Stan to doubt himself. _"Please Stan, you keep saying this and that yet you have done so much for Sandy. No matter what she says, she's always thankful to have you as her brother. She truly is, especially on that one day. The one day she showed her true feelings…for both you and Maxwell…allow me to show you…_

Suddenly, the light began to shine forth, illuminating the dark corners of Stan's bleak world. The light was so bright that Stan had to cover his eyes to prevent blinding. When the shinning light finally dissipated, Stan pulled his arm away from his eyes. His surroundings had changed to something even brighter. The sky regained its beautiful blue coat, covered by the puffy white clouds. The grass beneath his feet was soft and nearby was the sparkling blue lake. Stan couldn't believe it. One flash of light had brought him to the park nearby the Ham Ham Clubhouse. As he continued to survey his surroundings, his eyes suddenly caught a glimpse of a twirling pink ribbon. Stan squinted to check his vision and there she was. It was a playful tiger hamster who was twirling her ribbon. His ear perked as she began to sing a soothing tune. _That's…Sandy… _

Not noticing Stan nearby, Sandy continued to practice her moves for the festival was coming up. Hoping that she was good enough, Sandy tried to pull off an extraordinary feat, for a ham ham at least. She threw her ribbon high into the air, but then, she began to follow the ribbon into the air as she jumped up and tried to catch the ribbon in mid air; as if she were flying. "_…see the colors, skip and flow. Twirling round we--_uh oh…" However, she was unable to grasp her ribbon. Even worse, she couldn't complete the move and the punishment for that was obvious. Gravity took control of the young girlham and soon, she was falling quickly to the hard ground below. Stan, on the sidelines, began to shriek as he helplessly watched his sister fall to the ground. _OH NO! SANDY! _Then, just as she was about to make impact with the ground, something had slid under her, breaking her fall. Thanks to that, Sandy didn't suffer any injuries. However, the one who had broken her fall did, which was indicated clearly indicated by the swirling eyes as Sandy removed the green book from his face.

"Ouchichi…are you alright, Sandy?"

"Oh Maxwell! Sorry, 'bout that!"

"No it's alright. I'm just glad you're okay." Maxwell replied as he got up from his position on the ground. He then bent over and extended his paw to the young girlham as he began smile. "Can you stand?" A small blush covered Sandy's cream colored cheeks as she slowly took his paw. Gripping her paw firmly, Maxwell pulled Sandy up from the ground. When she was finally standing, Maxwell bent over and picked up her ribbon. He then handed it to her, but soon, he began to wonder what was causing her to go through so much hard work. "You're practicing for the autumn festival, aren't you? It looks like you're working yourself too hard."

"Yeah, we've got some competition! The girls and I have to be ready for this!"

"Well I don't see why you'd need to practice so hard. I'm sure you're good enough as it is." Suddenly, the blush on Sandy's face had begun to glow a deep shade of red. A sudden sensation began to well up her spine as her heart began to beat faster. Her eyes sparkled as they admired the tall boyham in front of her. Soon, Maxwell snapped her out of her trance. "I heard you singing a few minutes ago. What was that song?"

"Oh that? That was a song my twin brother would sing to me, back when were still babies."

"That's neat. It must've been great having a twin brother, right?" Maxwell asked as his interest grew in Sandy's past.

"Oh yeah! It was totally cool!" Then Sandy's expression changed to a more depressed look. "But…we were like…separated a long time ago."

"Oh…" However, the solemn look on his face faded as he patted Sandy's head, hoping that it would drive her sadness away. "Oh don't worry; I'm sure you'll find him someday." And in a flash, her sadness was gone. What replaced it was happiness as she continued to gaze at the boyham in front of her. As he began to leave, he turned to Sandy and, with soft smile on his lips, encouragingly told the young girlham, "Don't lose hope." With that, he left to conspire with the other boyhams.

What he didn't realize was that he left Sandy dazed in a happy sort of way. Tthe hearts in her eyes could easily indicate what was going through her heart as it continued to pound harder with every second. Then, a name uttered from her creamy lips. "Oh Maxwell…you're so totally cool. You're so much like Stan." As she let out a soft sigh, Sandy began to look up into the clear blue sky. A soft breeze whisked through her fur, bringing back memories; tearful yet joyous. "Even now, I still miss my family. It was so hard to bear the death of my parents…and I even lost my brother…sometimes I think he has forgotten about me…but after hearing that from Maxwell…when he told me not to lose hope, I began to feel so light headed. It's almost as if a great burden has lifted my shoulders. That is why I'll keep practicing…for both Maxwell and Stan…and then one day…we can all truly be together…me, Maxwell, Stan, the girls…oh crows, I forgot! I was supposed to help the girls practice!" With that in mind, Sandy headed toward the edge of the park, where the girl hams awaited her lesson.

What Sandy hadn't realized was that her brother was watching the entire scene play out with his eyes wide open. Stan assumptions were once again incorrect. After watching the couple converse, he began to realize why she loved Maxwell so much. Maxwell, while not the most athletic ham ham, was willing to do anything to make Sandy happy, even if it meant getting hurt in the process. His usually calm demeanor and advice made him somewhat of a brother-like figure to the ham hams, but his presence affected Sandy the most for that very presence filled the hole in her heart caused by her parents' death and her separation from her brother. Now it became clear to Stan that in a way…he and Maxwell were both alike…their greatest desire isn't to have girls or to have unsurpassed knowledge…but to bring happiness to the one girl ham they care for the most.

Even though he had realized he was wrong, Stan couldn't help but smile. He was now glad to have to urge Sandy to leave. In doing so, Sandy met the friends that became her family…and…the boyham that stole her heart. Even then, there was one more thing that bothered Stan. _Hey…_

"_Yes Stan?"_

_Do you think…Sandy and Maxwell…will ever forgive me for this day?_

"_Trust me, Stan. If you go up to them and apologize, they WILL forgive you. Maxwell has already learned of your activities…but even now, he continues to see you as the only brother that Sandy could ever have As for Sandy…she will get mad. You should know your sister by now…but even then, she'll always forgive you for you are her only brother; the caring brother that brought her nothing but joy since birth. It's because of this…that even now…I have no regret in trusting you with her…my son…" _The light began to glisten as its shape began to change, forming the shape of a hamster. That very same light began to dim, allowing the features of the hamster to be shown. What was now before Stan was someone he and Sandy grew up with. Someone that they admired. Someone that risked her life for the happiness of her children.

_Oh mom… _Soon, the tears began to well up in Stan's eyes as he ran towards his saintly mother. He wrapped his arms around his loving mother, who lovingly hugged her son. One touch of her fur revitalized his body, mind, heart, and soul, bringing a smile to his lips. There was only one last thing for him to do…

"_Tell Maxwell thank you for watching over your sister for so long. And tell Sandy that your father and I are very proud of her and we always watch over you two. Now go…they are waiting for you…"_

…

As Stan slowly opened his eyes, he noticed that his mother was gone. He was back in the carnival. It was nighttime, but the light from the nearby lamps illuminated the shadows of the carnival. Thanks to his mother, Stan felt somewhat refreshed. Whatever pain or frustration he was feeling earlier was gone and was replaced with a burning determination and the desire for repentance. _Thank you for everything, Mom. I'll do my best to truly keep my promise and make sure to finally bring this to rest… _Just as he was about to leave, something caught his eye. Within the dark depths of the night, it was the only thing that gave off a bright color. A small breeze caused it to ripple beautifully through the air. _Sandy's ribbon? But I thought Sandy and the other ham hams left already. _However, the other figures soon came into view, making Stan realize that the one holding the ribbon wasn't his sister…

"Geez…that bookworm really did number on you, huh?" One giant ham ham snickered. Hearing that was quite a shocker to Stan. Heck, the thought of Maxwell clobbering anyone would surprise him. _So they were right? Maxwell kicked the crap out of them? Wow, now I've seen everything! Wait those guys…aren't they the thugs that punched me outta the theater?_

"Oh shuddup!" Another stocky gray ham shouted back, who was apparently the leader. "That was only cuz I let my guard down. Anyway what do you wanna do with this stupid thing?" His dirty paws raised the ribbon into the air for his brutes to see. When he saw those hands gripping the ribbon, Stan could no longer hold in his anger . The ribbon that Sandy's mother gave Sandy before her death was about to be tainted by the hands of these cruel thugs. There was no way he'd let that happen. _Sandy…Maxwell…wait for me a lil longer. I have some business to take care of…besides… it's time I pay those guys back…with interest…_

"I think we should rip it up!"

"I think we should sell it!"

"I think you guys need to stop smoking and get another hobby!" The thugs quickly jerked their head to see their next opponent: an angry tiger-like ham emitting a demonic glare from his eyes. Those eyes, however, were only shielding them from the true beast.

"Hey look boss! Some tough guy's here to take us on!"

"What do you want?"

"I'm here to take back that ribbon!" Stan fiercely replied, glaring angrily at the giant ham hams.

However, the thugs could not help but laugh at the poor tiger ham. "Oh this thing is yours? You must some girly ham or something!"

"It belongs to someone I know, and I'm here to take it back." Then, for a split second, a devious grin curved his lips as the fires of revenge burned in his eyes. "Besides…I'm here to rip apart the damn ape that got me in the face!"

"So you were that usher from earlier? You look a little different but that sissy voice is still the same." Then, the thugs began inching towards Stan, each step pounded the ground so hard that the ground beneath Stan's feet to tremble. Even then, Stan's glare didn't falter. He continued to stand his ground, ready for anything the thugs had for him. "We're a little irritated now. Once we're irritated we make sure no one leaves unscathed, so I suggest you run now while you still have the chance."

Despite the warning, Stan refused to run. Instead, he began to taunt and chuckle at the giant ham hams, pushing the patience of the thugs. "Me? Run? I think you guys should be the ones running from me? Or perhaps you want me to leave because you're too afraid…afraid that you'll get your ass kicked…just like with that bookworm you scumbags thought was weak…"

"If you wanted to die so badly then you should've said so! GET HIM!" At that instant, one of the thugs restrained Stan's arms from moving, allowing the others to mercilessly pound him. They made sure each crushing blow delivered leak searing pain to Stan's already beaten body. After a few minutes torture, the three thugs stopped and glared back at their victim, now lying helplessly in a pool of blood. "Now get out of here before we really kill you. You're even lucky with spared your life cuz once you mess with us, we'll hunt you down like prey till the day you die."

"Prey? You've gotta be kidding me..." Despite all those blows, Stan was able to endure all those blows and stand up on his two hind legs. He was breathing heavily due to the force of those blows, but he was not about to give up. His eyes, however, continued to narrow at the thugs in demonic glare. The beast was about to emerge. "I've been wondering why Maxwell was able to defeat you guys and after all those 'punches' I finally realized why. While I admit that Maxwell is strong for a bookworm, you guys are all pathetically weak! I spit on your wimpy punches!" Whatever patience was left within those thugs was quickly diminishing. And yet, Stan continued to bluff and taunt those fools. "And you think I'm going to be your prey? Dream on, crack heads. When you irritate me, your fate is sealed. Death is inevitable. Once this is all over the only one standing in the end…will be me…"

"YOU JUST KILLED YOURSELF, PAL! GET READY TO DIE!" At that instant, the two of the thugs rushed toward Stan, ready to put him out for good. Suddenly, one thug felt a sharp pain stretch across his cheek. The other thug felt something puncture his shoulder. The two both yelped in pain, feeling a messy read liquid leak from their wounds. "B-blood…" One of thug's cheeks was totally lacerated with claw marks. The other had holes on his shoulder, visible teeth marks. These wounds didn't even look like they came from a ham ham. They looked like something else… "T-this guy's intense."

Intense wasn't even the word to describe to Stan. Stan was now on all fours. His claws were now extended, sharpened to the point where they could slash trough a tree with ease. His teeth which were used for krmping had now become fangs that could tear anything apart. Through the dark blanket surrounding him, Stan's eyes pierced right through the darkness, glowing in a deep blood red color. He was no longer a tiger hamster. He was something else. "Like I said, I'm not your prey. You're MY prey. Once you're MY prey, YOUR death is inevitable. Now enough talk. GET READY TO FEEL THE POWER OF A REAL TIGER! URRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" With that, the vicious tiger pounced on his helpless prey; his roar echoing through the pitch black sky…

…

"What was that!" Bijou shrieked as she heard a beastly roar echo through the night sky of the carnival. "It sounded like those really fearful cats. Those cats that Stan and Sandy look like! Tigers!"

However, that very same roar sounded very familiar to Pashmina. "Wait a minute! If I'm not mistaken that tiger roar…" That was when Pashmina's eyes widened. That roar belonged to one person, and it was coming from the one place they haven't checked. "…sounded like Stan! Bijou, we must find Stan immediately!"

"Oui!"

Few minutes later, as the two girl hams headed towards the place the source of that roar, two large hams started running away like scared little girls, unknowingly passing by the same girl ham that smacked them with a flashlight.

"THERE'S A TIGER LOOSE IN THE CARNIVAL! SOMEONE SAVE US!"

"Hey! It's those rude brutes from the theater!"

"Never mind them! Wait…there are no tigers here so…!" Realizing who they might be referring to, Pashmina continued down the dark path of the carnival, leaving Bijou behind.

"Wait for me, Pashmina!" Bijou called for her friend as she tried to catch up. After a few minutes of intense running, Bijou finally caught up with Pashmina. "Please wait for me next time, Pashmina…eh? Pashmina?" However, Pashmina didn't respond. She could not speak. Her eyes widened in fear, as if she had seen a monster. "Pashmina, you're scaring me. What's going on…? …oh my …" When Bijou finally decided to see what Pashmina was seeing, a sharp gasp escaped her lips. Blood spilled all over the ground. Pieces of fur that had belonged to the thugs were scattered everywhere. The scariest part…was the fallen thug leader. His massacred body lay in a bloody mess and was even missing an arm. However, the beast that caused this mess was still around. He was no longer a ham ham; possibly a demon. "S-Stan…did you…do all this…?"

Slowly, Stan lifted his head to glare at the frightened girl hams. The fiery blaze of the beast continued glow in his demonic eyes, as if he hadn't done enough. An awkward silence filled the air as Stan's glare continued to pierce Pashmina and Bijou's gaze. Then…he finally opened his mouth and said:

"Pashmina! Bijou! I didn't think you'd still be here, but I'm glad you two decided to come back!" The demonic glare slowly faded, bringing back the mischievously cheerful eyes of the flirty tiger ham. Even then, his friends could not get over what they saw earlier.

"WHAT ARE YOU SO HAPPY ABOUT STAN! THERE'S BLOOD ALL OVER AND…AND…YOU'RE CHEWING AN ARM!"

"Mm?" Pashmina was right. In Stan's mouth was a giant bloody arm that belonged to the thug…or so they thought… "Oh this? This isn't a real arm. And all this isn't real blood. It's actually cherry juice, and the arm is a prop I found somewhere!"

"But what about the thugs!"

"Oh this guy? He was really pissing me off so I beat the crap out of him and the rest of his gang. I'm a nice guy and I'd rather not kill anyone, so I grabbed one of the thugs and pulled him into a dark corner. After beating him to the point where he lost consciousness, I pulled out the prop and the cherry juice and…well…here we are!"

The two girl hams couldn't help but laugh. They felt so stupid for thinking that Stan would do something like kill another ham ham, even if they were complete jerks. Still, there was one last question that Pashmina had to ask. "So you're not depressed anymore?"

"Not really." Stan calmly replied as he got up from the ground, feeling quite refreshed after all that happened. "I've realized that Boss was right all along. I was only keeping half my promise. The other promise I made a promise as a brother…but I realized that what I was doing was wrong all along. I felt so stupid…but I'm tired of that now…" Then, he pulled out the one thing that everyone was racing to find. The one toy that continued to flow freely through the air…and the one possession that bonded him with his twin sister. "All I want to do now is to make Sandy happy and apologize to her and Maxwell."

"Stan, you found it!" Pashmina was so overjoyed that she was about to shmubby wubby Stan. Just in the nick of time, Sandy's brother not only returned refreshed from his dark moment, but even got back Sandy's ribbon back.

Bijou, feeling the same way, felt that Sandy and Maxwell's date would end happily ever after. The only thing left to do was to go back and give it to them. "Alright! Stan! Pashmina! Let's go to the Mini Hamuzu concert and return Sandy's ribbon to her! It's time the two got the happy ending they deserved!" Just as she was about to leave, she heard Pashmina giggling happily. "…Pashmina? Stan?" When Bijou turned to both Pashmina and Stan, she couldn't help but get angry in frustration. "STOP PLAYING WITH HIM!"

"But he's just so cute!" It turned out that Stan wanted to play around and flirt with Pashmina for a bit, so he resorted to something he hadn't tried in a long time: acting like a cute and innocent tiger ham. Pashmina kept scratching the adorable ham ham behind his ear, as if he was her very own kitten. Stan obviously didn't mind as long as it got Pashmina attention. He continued to softly purr as Pashmina played with her newfound pet.

"PASHMINA!"

Knowing that Bijou was right, Pashmina sighed and stopped playing with her 'kitten'. There wasn't much time left and there was still one more thing to do. "Sorry Stan, but we have to get to the concert! It's already starting!"

Stan agreed. Now was not the time to fool around. His heart now filled with great determination, he pulled out his skateboard, ready to charge into the concert. "Right. Hop on!"

…

"PANDA COME IN!" All the ham hams bolted up from their long wait. It had been awhile since they've heard from the two girl hams, and some of them almost thought that the two of them couldn't find it. Could this be the good news they've been waiting so long for?

Panda pulled out his walkie talkie, allowing him to regain contact with Pashmina. "Pashmina! Bijou! Did you find it?"

While it was a bit fuzzy, the big message had gotten through. "Let's put it this way: start running toward the concert now or else you'll be left behind!" The ham hams could not contain the joy within them. Their mission was near its close. The only thing left to do was make sure the ribbon is delivered to Sandy. With that in mind, they all headed for the Mini Hamuzu concert.

"So did Bijou and Pashmina find it?" Hamtaro asked Panda as they sprinted toward the concert.

"I would think so. They seemed so excited."

"Great! Now all we have to do is head to the MiniHamuzu concert and give it back to Sandy, right Penelope?" An overjoyed Cappy exclaimed.

"Ookwee!"

"Heh. I guess Sandy and Maxwell will be getting that happy ending after all…" Sparkle smiled as those words escaped her lips.

Of course, it was a bit of a shock to the nearby field hamster. "Oh no! Is Sparkle actually being nice?"

"SHUT UP ALREADY! GEEZ YOU'RE SO ANNOYING!" Just as two hot headed ham hams were about to get into another argument, a sudden flash of orange had caught up with the gang.

"Hey, guys!"

"Stan!"

"Don't worry. I'm on your side now. I got the ribbon back and am ready to help Sandy and Maxwell!"

"Well that's great and all but…WHY ARE YOU HOLDING ONTO BIJOU!"

"YEAH AND WHY IS PASHMINA BY YOUR SIDE!" Dexter and Howdy added.

"Do you really think they could get to the concert on time without me carrying them?"

"Well yeah…but…"

"That doesn't matter." Bijou finally broke their big argument. "We have to get to the concert as soon as possible."

"Oh no!" Pashmina worriedly exclaimed as they passed the big clock. "The concert's already started!"

"Then we'd better get a move on it!" Hamtaro dashed toward the concert in a blinding flash. The others followed in pursuit. Everyone rushing toward the concert would not stop for anything. They were all determined to make sure a kind book loving boy ham and the sporty yet loving girl ham would get their happy ending…

…

After about an hour into the concert, the MiniHamuzu had finished one of their songs and was ready to do the next one. However, this song was a special one and needed something special. Something…or maybe someone.

Then, Ai came onto the stage, clutching the microphone firmly in her paws. "We're about to go onto our next song…but don't you think we're missing something? Hey Nono-chan, do you know what it is?"

"A sunflower seed?"

"No silly!"

"I think we need someone else on stage! Don't you all agree?" Suddenly, the crowd was in an uproar. Everyone knew what was going to happen: the MiniHamuzu were going to choose someone to step onto the stage and sing and dance with them. However, only one will be allowed on stage. Obviously, everyone would be fighting over who's going to be that one.

The MiniHamuzu's newest member, Takahashi, came up and happily exclaimed into the microphone, "Everyone get your tickets out! After we call out your number, please come onto the stage." Tension was building within the audience. Many anticipated that they would win; others were praying, and a couple of other hams kept yelling 'CALL MY NUMBER!' which only caused the MiniHamuzu to giggle at the desperate ham hams.

Within the restless crowd, there was only one ham ham who didn't feel so excited. She, feeling guilty over her loss, gave her ticket to her boy ham. "Hey Maxwell, can you hold onto this for me?"

"Hm? Oh sure, but why? Don't you want to win this?" Unfortunately, she was still mourning over her loss. Her concerned boy ham wanted to help. He felt so powerless standing next to her, but he didn't know what to do. All he could do is watch and pray that the ham hams return soon with her ribbon. _There's gotta be something I can do…_

It was now the moment of truth. After shuffling through the random numbers scattered in giant basket, Mari plucked the lucky number and held high in the air for everyone to see. All was silent as the awaited the calling of the winner. "Alright! Here's our winner!" She then motioned for all the other MiniHamuzu to huddle up together. They all took a deep breath, keeping everyone in suspense. "And our lucky ham ham is sitting in…"

"Center Section! Row A! Seat number…" The Hamuzus paused to see the look on everyone's faces. A tiny giggle escaped their lips when they heard the many groans coming from all directions. Those who were sitting in the Center section of Row A, however, had not lost hope yet for everyone in Row A still had a chance to win this. The Hamuzus paused again to build up the dramatic suspense. Everyone had their full attention on the pop stars, ready to jump for joy the second they call their number. After the excruciatingly long wait, the MiniHamuzus, all together, announced the winning number:

2

1

6

5

2

3

When it was all said and done, every other ham ham began to pout and groan. Some even ripped in ticket in half in frustration for they lost their chance to stand on the stage with their idols.

Suddenly, Maxwell let out a sharp gasp. He checked the tickets several times just to make sure his eyes weren't playing tricks on him. Ticket number 216523 belonged to only one ham ham. The winner was…

"Sandy! You won!" Maxwell couldn't be any happier. His lovely girl ham now had a chance at stepping onto the stage and dancing with the ever popular MiniHamuzu. He could hardly contain himself. Unfortunately…

"…I dun wanna go up…" Sandy refused to go up on stage. Even now, she couldn't think of anything but her ribbon, which made her feel even more depressed and guilty than before.

"Sandy…what's wrong? Are you still worried about your ribbon?"

"I told you already! My ribbon is something so important to me. Not only is it a reminder of Stan and my mom…but it also helps me dance. When I'm holding my ribbon…my body feels so light…sometimes I feel like I'm flying…but now…"

"I know how you feel Sandy…but please…enjoy this night. This is a big honor."

Sandy wouldn't budge. Instead, she remained in her seat and even yelled at Maxwell, despite his attempt to cheer her up. "I don't care! My ribbon is more than anything! I can't do anything without it! Don't you understand, Maxwell!"

At that moment, Maxwell couldn't help but clench his fist. Then, without warning, he said the one thing no one would ever expect him to say to Sandy. "…cry baby…" Suddenly, Sandy felt a sharp blow on her cheek. She looked up at Maxwell. The usually composed Maxwell had a mixture of emotions on his face: Sadness, anger, pity. Sandy obviously didn't know what to do, especially now that her boy ham, for the first time, hit her in the face, not to mention going as far as calling her a 'cry baby'. Suddenly, that anger on his face turned to compassion as Maxwell brought Sandy into a warm embrace, hoping to bring back the Sandy he truly loved. "Please don't say that. Are you trying to tell me that everything up till now was the work of your ribbon? Even our relationship?"

"No…but-!" However, Maxwell wouldn't let her say another word. He needed to have her listen to what he had to say.

"Sandy, you're here today because of you, your family, and your friends. Not your ribbon. It's true that your ribbon is an important reminder of your family and that you must take care of it, but you can't think that everything you've done was all your ribbon. If you think otherwise, take a look at your friends. They envy not only your talents, but your personality. Compared to all the ham hams, you're the only one who stays happy, even through the bad times. Not even Hamtaro is as optimistic as you are. Look at Stan. The day he came to Japan, he was so happy see you. To see that you've grown up to become a great girl ham. And…look at me…" Maxwell didn't need to add anything to that last one.

All Sandy needed to do was stare into his eyes. The desire from earlier had returned. Soon, memories began flooding back into her mind. Despite all that she has been through, her friends have kept her so optimistic. Everyday she'd leave her cage, knowing that her friends would be there. Knowing that Maxwell would be there. There was no denying it. Her ribbon did not get her all her friends. It was herself. "Maxwell…" That's when a sudden rush climbed through her body. Before she knew it, Maxwell's lips were touching hers again. Their passionate kiss may not have been as overwhelming or as romantic as before, but it made Sandy realize that Maxwell will do anything to make her happy. Anything. Their lips parted. Maxwell warmly smiled at Sandy.

"You are who you choose to be. A ribbon doesn't decide that for you."

It was at that moment; Sandy's eyes began to well up in tears of joy. She should've known from the beginning. She felt better knowing that she had friends, a brother, and the one boy ham that will always make her happy. "You're right, Maxy. I should've realized it sooner."

"Don't worry about it, Sandy. So what are you going to do now?"

Sandy knew exactly what to do. She got out of her chair and headed down the aisle to the stage. For a few minutes, she glanced back at Maxwell, giving him her cute loving smile, and said, "To dance and make you and all the ham hams happy."

Outside the walls of the concert, the rest of the ham hams were pumping their paws, trying to get inside as quick as possible. Luckily, the concert gates were only a few feet away. The problem was the gate's security guard. Despite this, many of the ham hams felt that the obstruction was nothing more than annoyance, so Stan, Boss, and Bijou rushed toward the security guard.

"OUTTA THE WAY!" The three of them smashed through the security guard and into the concert (Yes, Bijou used the flashlight). The other ham hams followed in pursuit.

"Wait for us!" With the guard of the way, everyone freely entered the concert…everyone except Pashmina.

"Guys, what are you doing? You didn't need to beat up the security! We've got the…" However, there was no one left to here her. They had all left…

Unfortunately, the gate's guard had quickly risen from the ground and contacted the other ushers about the break-in. Soon, waves of MiniHamuzu security guards rushed onto the scene, ready to silence this invasion.

"This is getting annoying!" Stan groaned as he weaved through each guard to prevent capture. However, he wasn't as lucky with the next guard, who pounced on him and tackled him to the ground. The guard was pretty strong, so Stan had a hard time shaking him off. That's when he saw Howdy and Dexter. "Howdy! Dexter! Catch!" Stan tossed the ribbon to Howdy and Dexter. Knowing what to do, they nodded and headed down the steps.

"C'mon Dex, hurry up!"

"I'm coming!" However, Dexter couldn't keep up and eventually got caught and Howdy next. "This isn't good!" Luckily for Howdy, Dexter spotted Sparkle nearby. "Howdy, get it to Sparkle!"

"Hot potato to Sparkle!" Howdy tossed the ribbon over to Sparkle just before the next guard grabbed him. Unfortunately…

"Oof!" Sparkle didn't see the ribbon coming and it ended up crashing right into her head. When she finally shook off the pain, she grabbed the ribbon and began to yell at the Kansai-ham ham...not noticing the nearby guard. "YOU IDIOT! WATCH WHERE YOU'RE THROWING IT!"

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING! MOVE IT!" Luckily for her, Boss was nearby, allowing him to grab her and prevent her capture. Despite that, Sparkle wasn't exactly pleased with the way he was holding her.

"You know you didn't have to go and carry me around like some dog…"

"Would you rather get captured by them!"

"Well…no! I guess I should thank you then."

"I don't need any thanks…"

"WATCH OUT!" Suddenly a swarm of guards lunged at them. There was obviously no way for Boss and Sparkle to continue. Luckily, Sparkle saw another nearby ham ham, waiting for the pass. "Boss, throw it over there to Penelope!"

"Right! Yo Penelope, catch!" Boss hurled the ribbon over to Penelope just in time. While Boss and Sparkle dealt with the guards, Penelope grabbed the ribbon and ran over to Cappy.

"Great Penelope! Now all we have to do is--"

"OOKWEE!" The shocked chibi-ham ham indicated that there was yet another swarm of guards coming their way. It was time that they kicked it into high gear.

"Penelope, get in!" Cappy pulled Penelope with her into his saucepan hat and used it like a sled to skid down the aisles. Thanks to Cappy's brilliant idea, the security guards were powerless as they bounced off the incoming saucepan, one by one. "We're doing pretty good so far!" Penelope happily nodded in reply. Then…

"GOTCHA KIDS!"

"Quick! Toss it to someone else!" Cappy ordered Penelope, passing the ribbon to her. Her loud squeak echoed through the air as she hurled the ribbon to yet another nearby ham ham: Bijou.

"I got it!"

Unfortunately, one large guard grabbed her paw. "Not so fast!" Luckily for her, another ham ham came to her aid and gave the guard a powerful headbutt from behind, causing the guard to tumble down the steps.

"You alright, Bijou?"

"No I'm fine. Thank you Hamtaro."

"Oh don't mention it. C'mon we have to get down to the front row!"

"Right!" The two ran as fast as they could down the stands. They continued down the steps, outwitting each guard they passed. It seemed like they were going to make it…until Bijou tripped.

"Are you hurt?"

"Ow…it's just a bit of sprain."

"Cats!" Hamtaro couldn't abandon her now. He looked if there was anyone left. Only three were left. "Oxnard! Panda! Pepper! It's all up to you!" Hamtaro tossed the ribbon over to Panda, who nodded and ran off with it.

However, Pepper refused to go and opted to keep the guards at bay. "Y'all go ahead. I'll take care of the guards for ya!"

"But Pepper!"

"Go Oxy, before they get you too!"

"No I'm not leaving you here on your own!"

"Oxy…"

"Panda, please get it to Sandy right away!"

Panda nodded and hurried off. About a minute later, he was already half way to the front row, until he realized that Oxnard and Pepper couldn't hold off the guards any longer. Waves of guards were now chasing after Panda. "There's no way I can get it there in time!" Then…

"Panda, toss it over here! I'll make it to the front!"

Panda turned to his side and couldn't believe who was right next to him. "Stan, how did you get out of that mess back there!"

"There's no time for that! Now pass the ribbon!"

"Right!" Panda hurled the ribbon over to Stan. Stan caught and ran faster than he had ever run in his life, doing his best to keep away from the guard's clutches. As he rushed down the concert steps, he noticed a cute tiger-like ham ham on stage with MiniHamuzu. He couldn't believe she would actually get a chance to be on stage with them, but now wasn't the time to cheer.

"Must've been a contest. I'd better get in close and toss it over to her!" Suddenly he heard loud shouts and cusses coming. He glanced back only to see an onslaught of guards coming his way. _Crap…I can't get there in time! _He didn't know how to handle this. There was only one way he could get it over to Sandy: get someone else to throw it. The question is who? All the ham hams have already been captured and there was no way he could make a toss from where he was. Suddenly, his eyes caught sight of a tall brown hamster in the front row. _Maxwell! He's a long ways away…but I have to get it to him! Better make this count! _Stan wound up his throw and shouted into the air, "MAXWELL, CATCH!" Then, putting all his power into his arm, he hurled the ribbon toward the front row.

At that instant, Maxwell heard a loud shout coming from behind. He could've sworn it sounded like… _Stan…? _Maxwell then turned around and couldn't believe his eyes. A bright pink ribbon was flowing freely through. However this wasn't just any ribbon…it was…_It's Sandy's ribbon. _Maxwell extended his arm as high as he could to catch the toy. There it was in his paws, Sandy's ribbon. It had returned just as he promised to Sandy. With a giant beaming smile on his face, he turned to stage and shouted to his one love, "Show them what you can really do, Sandy!" At that instant, Maxwell, using as much force as he could, tossed the ribbon high in the air, hoping that Sandy would see it.

Suddenly, Sandy stopped dancing as she began to notice a flash of pink. She blinked a couple of times, but she knew exactly what it was as it illuminated through the night sky. _My ribbon… _It was at that moment that Sandy's lips began to curve into a great smile. Her eyes playfully illuminated with the color of the ribbon. This could only mean one thing: she's going leave the stage, awing her audience. At that instant, Sandy used all the power in her hind legs to propel herself in the air. With much grace and style, Sandy's paw grabbed her treasured ribbon while staying high above the stage. Soon, gravity took control of her body, but this time she was ready. Rather than falling flat on her face, Sandy, having the grace of an acrobat, flipped in the air and landed perfectly on her two hind legs. Everyone, including the MiniHamuzu, let out a huge applause for Sandy's amazing act, but it wasn't over yet. As the song continued to play, Sandy continued to entertain them through the spectacular moves she performed for the MiniHamuzu's audience. She was practically all of the MiniHamuzu's cheers, but that didn't matter to them for they too enjoyed each and every move she performed. As Sandy danced for them, the MiniHamuzu's voices filled the stadium with an upbeat tune…

When the MiniHamuzu finished their song, the audience got off their seats and happily cheered in a standing ovation. Not just for the MiniHamuzu, but for the lucky girl ham who gave them the best performance ever: Sandy. Everyone who saw Sandy dance was dazzled by the smooth and graceful flow of her dance. Of everyone there, no one was happier that Maxwell, Stan, and the ham hams. The girl ham they all cared for had put on a performance that no one will ever forget.

"Sandy…I knew you could do it…" Sandy looked down the crowd. Maxwell was standing, casting his gaze on her, as his eyes shined with pride. From the moment she set eyes on him, she knew that this was the boy ham for her… _Noppo-kun…_

Maxwell wasn't the only one. Her twin brother, Stan, the one who had brought back her ribbon just in time, could not believe that she could pull off those moves. Before then, he thought Sandy had only reached her limit, but this was something else. She had grown and matured the way Stan envisioned. He couldn't have been any happier. _Torahamu-chan…you truly are amazing…_

Unfortunately, Stan forgot that he was in a rather tight spot along with the rest of the ham hams. "Alright, pal! We're gonna send you to the house!" The guards still had their paws on them.

That was when Sandy caught sight of them in the crowd, struggling out of guards grasp. Sandy knew exactly what to do. After what they did for her, it was time she paid them back. She went over to MiniHamuzu and whispered something in their ear. When Sandy was finished, they all nodded and turned to the center section of the stadium…

"Excuse me! Can you please let them go this once?" All the guards turned toward the center stage as the spotlights shinned on them. They couldn't believe that the MiniHamuzu would actually tell them not to arrest these freeloaders. However, they were serious about it. "These ham hams are Sandy's friends, so can you please let them go?"

Even if it was a request from the MiniHamuzu, these guards had a job to do. They couldn't exactly do something that would go against job. "Sorry, but it's our duty to kick out freeloaders. If these guys had tickets, we'd understand but-"

"But we do have tickets!" A sweet voice echoed through the air. Soon, a cute hamster wearing a pink scarf ran toward the guards, catching her breath along the way. "We had tickets all along, but you guys forgot we had them and rushed in without me!" All the ham hams fell right on their face. They had completely forgotten that Pashmina had their tickets, so rather than charging through the audience, they could've just calmly entered the stadium. The ham hams blushed bashfully over their sudden uproar as the crowd let out some silent giggles.

However, they had tickets…which means… "So you'll let them in now?"

The guards, despite all the hassle they went through, decided to let the ham hams go. They no longer had any reason to keep them from the concert. And so, the ham hams, now reunited, happily watched concert…holding the paws of their loved ones as the sweet music filled the night sky.

However, this happiness didn't last…for Stan at least. He was watching his sister lips curve into a loving smile as her boyham held her hand, also smiling at his lovely tiger. Seeing them together brought a bit of closure in Stan's heart after everything he had done. Still…he began to cringe as a thought came to mind…there was only one thing left to do…

And so…after the concert…

"YOU WHAT!" Stan finally told Sandy the truth; the reason why he was absent the entire day and why Sandy and Maxwell experienced some incredibly awkward situations. Sandy could not believe that her own brother would attempt to do something so dastardly. It was like a smack in the face to her. It was then that she couldn't hold it in anymore. She took out her ribbon and proceeded with senselessly whacking her helpless brother. "I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU WOULD TRY TO SEPARATE ME AND MAXWELL! HOW COULD YOU!"

"But Sandy!"

"NO BUTS! THAT WAS SO MEAN OF YOU! HOW COULD YOU DO SOMETHING SO TERRIBLE?"

However, before Sandy could land another blow, a firm paw reached out and prevented her from continuing her reign of terror. Sandy was about to forcefully pull back her arm, but when she turned her head, her eyes met with the one person she did not expect at all: Maxwell. "Sandy, I don't think he truly meant to separate us. He was just…a little concerned."

Sandy and Stan were totally stunned. Heck, everyone was. Out of all the ham hams, no one expected that Maxwell would take Stan's side. Sandy was probably the most speechless out of all of them. Still, Sandy could not understand why Maxwell would suddenly side with the one who tried to separate them. "Concerned? Why would he be concerned? Why go through all that trouble to pull us apart!"

"Why shouldn't he be? Isn't Stan your only brother? If I were Stan, I'd probably be worried too..." Sandy gazed into the eyes of her lover and then took a long hard glance at her brother. It was then that she realized exactly what Maxwell was saying: Stan was looking out for her from the very beginning. From the ignition of the car to the awkward tumbling in the Tunnel of Love, Stan was there for Sandy doing what any other brother would do: protect their little sister. Sure, his methods were a 'tad' extreme, but through all through all those mishaps was Stan's true desire: to keep his promise to protect Sandy. "I know Stan's methods were a bit too unorthodox, but that alone shows how much he cares for you."

Sandy bowed her head in silence. Time passed as she gathered her thoughts, staring at her older twin. Stan stared at Sandy without much emotion, perhaps out of curiosity. The other ham hams remained just as silent, allowing time to slow down as they all waited for a reply from Sandy. Then, with tears in her eyes…

"Is...is that true…onii-chan…?" For a split second, a couple of the ham hams gasped. For as long as they remember, they never heard Sandy refer to her brother as 'onii-chan'. This came as quite a shocker to them.

However, Stan's eyes began to illuminate as a confident grin formed in his lips. "Sandy, you're my one and only family. Perhaps I was a bit harsh on Maxwell, but Sandy, no matter what; I'll always be here for you. And you know what? Even if I was acting like some big stalker, there is one thing I learned: After seeing everything, Maxwell is the best ham for you." When Stan said those final words, everything was at peace once again. To Stan, it was a final acceptance of all he has done. The other ham hams didn't say anything, but the cheerful smiles showed that they have learned to forgive him.

And then there was Sandy. It was then that her life began to flash through her mind. There were many times that she wanted to give up, but through all that pain, a brave young tiger became her shield, giving her the courage to stand and become who she is today. At that point, her heart was overwhelmed with emotion. Then, at that moment, as a tear trickled down her fur…

"Oh Stan…" …Sandy ran up and warmly embraced Stan; her brother, her friend, and…her family. Stan did his best to hold back his own tears for he too could not help but feel overjoyed. After all that has happened, this was the only thing he wanted.

Maxwell smiled as he watched her girl ham hug her twin. To him, both Sandy and Stan were his family, making him very happy as well. _Finally, you two are back together…_

However, the moment was suddenly interrupted when Sandy's curiosity got the better of her. "Hey Stan, what exactly were you afraid of?"

"Well…"

Knowing the way her brother works, it didn't take Sandy too long to figure out. "STAN, YOU PERVERT!" At that instant, Sandy dove at Stan and soon the two began to wrestle with each other, like the playful tiger cubs they were. Unfortunately, they unknowingly dragged Maxwell into the brawl and soon laughter filled the night sky as the three playfully wrestled with each other under the stars.

About an hour later, Maxwell was able to navigate the car back to the clubhouse. There everyone briefly talked about each other's day, talking about the fun they had despite the many shortcomings (including Howdy and Dexter's screw up in the Ham Ham Ranger Show). After about a few minutes of arguing between Howdy and Dexter and Boss and Sparkle, they all waved to each other and said their goodbyes. As Sandy headed back home, Maxwell volunteered to walk her home. Despite the silent giggles coming from the other girl hams, Sandy gladly accepted the offer.

When they finally reached Hillary's house, Maxwell noticed that Sandy became distant again, worrying the taller boyham.

"Is there something wrong, Sandy?" asked the worried boyham.

Sandy slowly shook her head, but there was still something on her mind. Something she needed to get out. "Maxwell…was Stan really that concerned about us mating? I mean, when he told me everything, I called him a pervert and beat him…but why would he go through so much just to prevent that from happening?"

Maxwell didn't answer right away. He bowed his head for a few minutes in silence, trying to gather his thoughts. Then, in a low serious tone, solemnly replied, "To tell the truth…I too was worried about that…"

When Sandy's ears finally took in what he was saying, Sandy let out a silent gasp. She couldn't grasp the fact that Maxwell was just as worried as Stan about this issue. "Maxwell…"

Slowly lifting his head to the moon above, Maxwell continued to explain everything to his girlham. "I have been having these weird thoughts lately. Sometimes I would think of you and my heart would flutter as if it had wings. It has gotten me thinking that we should possibly take our relationship further, but then I keep remembering that you are important to Stan as well. I never wanted to do anything that would leave you and Stan a feeling of regret…and yet…the more I spend time with you…the more harder it is to control myself…so…" Before he could even finish, he felt soft arms wrap around his neck, halting all thoughts within Maxwell's head. He felt the soft fur rubbing against his as a warm feeling overcame him.

"Maxwell…neither you nor Stan should worry. I am not the helpless girl ham you two think I am. I know my own limits; I won't let my own desires cloud your feelings. Trust me." At that moment, Maxwell wrapped his arms around his lover's waist, startling Sandy a little, but soon she buried her head in chest. Both of them knew that even if they love each other, they can't go too far just yet. For now, this was enough for them. Just being with each other was all they needed.

Then, Maxwell realized something. "Hey Sandy?"

"Yes, Maxy?"

"When you said 'desires' did you mean you were thinking of that too?"

A deep blush covered Sandy's face as she gave her boy ham a stern look. "Maxwell!"

"Hey, it was just a joke." Maxwell grinned as his girl ham pouted.

Before she could say a thing, a thought popped into her head and Sandy playfully grinned at Maxwell, which began to give him goose bumps. "Hey Maxy…"

He was a little startled with manner she addressed him in, but Maxwell nervously replied. "Y-yes Sandy?"

Then in the most innocent tone she could give, she let out those two words:

"Kiss me."

Maxwell, calmly smiling at his innocent girl ham, brought her close and slowly pressed his lips against hers. No longer were they insecure about each other. The two lovers proceeded to drive the kiss more deeply and passionately as the tingling sensation surged throughout their bodies once again. Time stopped as the luminous moon and the twinkling stars illuminated the scene for our young couple. In their minds, the two wished for the night to never end. All they wanted was each other's love…

_Aishiteru…Noppo-kun…_

_Aishiteru…Torahamu-chan…_

* * *

Finally, a true ending to the fic. This time it looks fairly right. I think it still needs to be ironed out a bit before I can truly call it an ending, but at least I have finally given the fic the ending it rightfully deserves. 

I am sooooo sorry it took this long to complete. There was so much going on in real life, not to mention other interests (Read: Disgaea). However, I pushed myself as hard as I could to deliver the final chapter. I know, it didn't end very well, but once I get my mind working again, I might actually be able to give it a proper ending.

As for the chapter itself, like I said, ravens is no longer editing it, but I still thank her for the tremendous job she did. What I didn't like about it though was that I made Sandy and Stan a little too emotional. Even if they should've been emotional, I think I either pushed it or made the emotion too bland. As you can tell, I haven't been writing in ages, so it's hard to get back into it. There are many other problems, but my mind just can't pick them up (That's how brain dead I am). Also, I did not like how the MiniHamuzu scene came out. It was just so…blah. Part of the reason, I guess, is admin. rule against lyrics, so I couldn't even put in a small lyric to set it up right. A lot of this chapter should've been better than it should've been, but with college and everything, I don't have enough time.

Special thanks to the two girls I love the most. Without Ravens supporting me as both an editor and as a best friend, I may have given up long ago. I will always love her for her consideration and cheerfulness (though that changes if yaoi is brought into our convos). I cannot thank her enough. And then of course, this fic wouldn't even exist without KatyChan. It's been two years since I posted this fic, but even now this still a dedication to the girl I still love. I wish nothing but the best to her. Of course, all the reviewers deserve some thanks for leaving such encouraging comments. Thank you everyone.

So this is the end everyone. I hope you liked it. Bai bai and look forward to the next fic…

…right after the next chapter…

**Next Chapter:** One year after Sandy and Maxwell's date, chaos brews once again as the ham hams hatch a devious plot that will soon change Sandy and Maxwell's relationship forever! (I am such a liar…)


	8. Sandy and Maxwell Sitting in A Tree

**Author's notes: **Whenever I say something about the last chapter, remember one thing: don't always believe me. While this is more of an epilogue, I decided to put out at just one more episode for everyone to enjoy, especially for the lovely KatyChan and Ravens, the best friend I could ever have. So what are you waiting for? Read what happens to our favorite couple in this final episode.

**Disclaimer: **No, no, and no. I don't own Tottoko Hamutaro/Hamtaro. I would've kicked CN's ass if I did. KatyChan owns the character at the end (I won't tell you cuz it would spoil everything)

**Note: **You'll all notice that Penelope now ends her sentences with her favorite word. Basically, it's to show that she's somewhat growing up to the point where she can now speak. Of course, to show that she's still younger compared to the other ham hams, I've decided to end all her sentence with 'Ookwee'.

**Warning: **Alcohol is involved in this episode. That's right, there is drinking in this episode!

**

* * *

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**Epilogue: Sandy and Maxwell Sitting in a Tree…**

A lot has happened over the past two years for our favorite couple, Sandy and Maxwell. Two years ago was the first time they set eyes on each other. The minute Maxwell saved Sandy from that cat, the minute they knew that they were destined for each other. As time went on, their love grew and grew, with each event building up their love until they finally realized their feelings for each other during the autumn festival. Sandy's dance ribbon had caught Maxwell's heart and would never let go.

Then time passed once again, with their love increasing with each day, until they finally let it out on their first date. A tingling desire swept throughout their bodies as the warm passion grew. It was on this very day that Sandy and Maxwell landed their first real kiss. It was a sight to behold. Even if Sandy's twin brother Stan was out to ruin it, their love was never hindered, and so another year passed.

It was February 14, Valentine's day. Throughout this day, all the ham hams had showed their affection for one another. Though there were still some that were clueless about their mates, there was love in everyone, especially Sandy and Maxwell. Everyone was in awe as they watched Maxwell play around with Sandy, showing them that after two years, their relationship was strong and would continue to get stronger. However, a couple of hams knew that there was one thing left for these two to do. It would take a lot of effort, but in the end, these hams knew that our favorite couple will live happily ever after once again.

That night, the ham hams gathered at the clubhouse for an 'emergency' meeting. All ham hams, including Sparkle, were present. Well, all except for Sandy and Maxwell. Apparently they had forgotten to invite them…or maybe they didn't want to invite them. Presiding over the meeting were Bijou, Pashmina, and Penelope.

After getting the attention of all the sleepy ham hams, Bijou cleared her throat and initiated the meeting. "Good evening everyone. I'm sure you are all wondering why we have all called you here today."

"This better be good…" Sparkle groaned as she rubbed her eyes, indicating her current insomnia. "If I don't get my beauty sleep I'm gonna be cranky in the morning…"

"Isn't there a limit to how cranky you can be?" Boss' remark only got him into yet another argument with Sparkle. It was bound to happen, since these two were the most hotheaded ham hams in the room. In response, the other ham hams pulled them apart and tried to calm the two. Once everyone had settled down, Bijou began to speak again.

"Now we're all glad that you've all made it for today's meeting, because this meeting concerns our favorite couple." The room had suddenly grown silent, which soon began to worry the ham hams. Perhaps the girl hams were holding a meeting to discuss something that may have happened to our favorite couple.

However, there were ham hams that were so clueless that they didn't even know. "Who's our favorite couple?" Of course, that very ham ham was the helpful yet dense Hamtaro. Everyone in the room fell face first to the ground, seeing that Hamtaro was just too stupid when it came to relationships.

"SANDY AND MAXWELL!"

"Oh!"

Now that they had finally established the focus of the meeting, it was now time to find out what the meeting was about. Pashmina decided to continue where Bijou left off. "Yes, Sandy and Maxwell, our favorite couple, has been together for two years and it's time to take it to the next level. That is the focus of today's meeting: something joyful is about to happen to Sandy and Maxwell."

"Joyful? What could be so joyful? Does it have something to do with sunflower seeds?" Oxnard, the sunflower seed eating demon, asked with sunflowers in his eyes.

"Uh…no …" Penelope replied. "It actually has something to do with a certain song. If you all sing along, you might actually get it, ookwee!" Everyone nodded and agreed to sing along with the girl hams, hoping to finally find out what was going on. Penelope counted to three and soon they all sang an oddly familiar song.

_Sandy and Maxwell sitting in a tree!_

_K-I-S-S-I-N-G!_

_First comes love!_

_Then comes—_

That's when it finally hit them. The true focus of this meeting. The reason why the girl hams quietly assembled all the ham hams. There was only one thing that comes after a boy and a girl are together for a long time. "THEY'RE GETTING MARRIED!"

"Congratulations, ookwee! You got the right answer!"

"Wow, those two must be really goin all out if ther getting hitched so early…" Howdy said with a glint his eye. He got smacked for that comment, but it was the person he least expected to smack him. "What're doin that fer, Stan?"

Stan, being the protective brother he was, did not like the way Howdy was thinking of his sister. "Hey, I can't let you have thoughts of those two, especially since this is my sister we're talking about!" However, he quickly moved closer to Howdy and slyly whispered in his ear, "Besides, I'm the one who's suppose to have those naughty thoughts…hehehe…"

Of course, this made the girl hams furious. Even though they didn't exactly hear it, they knew exactly when Stan was being perverted or flirty. "STAN, YOU PERVERT!" And so, they eventually whacked him for that comment.

As they finished beating Stan to a pulp, Dexter raised an interesting question. "Wait a minute. Last time I checked, only humans engage in holy matrimony. Hamsters don't get married, so why are they deciding to get married?"

"I'm glad you asked." Pashmina said with a beaming smile. "Since Maxwell and Sandy are like so totally in love with each other, it was about time they got married. Besides, it would make ham ham history if those two become the first married ham ham couple, don't you think?"

"Yeah, that's so awesome!" exclaimed an excited Cappy. "We should ask them where they're holding the wedding!"

Suddenly, several beads of sweat trickled down the girl ham's fur out of hesitation. There was something really awkward about this wedding. "Um…maybe we shouldn't do that…"

"Why not?" asked Hamtaro. "It would be great to know their plans for the future!"

Stan, being the brother of one of the spouses, was also very interested in this. "Yeah, and I wanna ask those two: WHY THE HELL THEY DIDN'T TELL ME?"

Bijou looked to the other girl hams. Pashmina and Penelope sighed and nodded towards her. Bijou sighed as well. It was time to tell them the **whole** truth about the wedding. "Well it's just that…they don't know about the wedding."

"Well that's impossible." Boss said. "It's their wedding, so they should know about it…unless…" It was then that it had finally hit them. There was only one reason why Sandy and Maxwell wouldn't know about the wedding, yet the girl hams knew about it. All the boy hams, for several minutes, stared at the girl hams in silence. Finally, altogether in one loud shout… "…WE'RE THROWING IT FOR THEM!"

"Well, yeah. Don't you think it would be a great surprise?"

"Great surprise, ookwee!"

"You girls are probably the most obsessive matchmakers ever!" Sparkle violently yelled at them. "Why are you three always rushing their relationship?"

"We can't help it!" Pashmina snapped back. "They're just too cute together!"

"That's not a reason!"

"Well, we have it all planned out and we even have a place booked so we're doing it and that's final!" Most of the hams, with the exception of Hamtaro and Stan, groaned, but since the girl hams had everything planned, they had no choice. Operation 'I Do' was about to begin…

It was now the morning of February 15, the day before Maxwell saved Sandy. Speaking of which, Sandy was snuggled up in Maxwell's arms as they watched the sun rising from the tree. Though many don't pay attention to it, to this romantic couple, the rising sun was a beautiful sight.

Finally, Sandy broke the silence. "So Maxy, tomorrow is that day again, right?"

"Yeah…" Maxwell breathed out as he smiled at his cute girl ham. "To think, it's been two years, and we've made it this far…"

"It's all because of you, Maxy…"

"It's because of the two of us. We did it together."

Sandy giggled playfully. Even small conversations like this only strengthen their relationship. "Yeah, you're right. So what do we have planned for tomorrow?" She playfully nuzzled her partner's neck with her nose.

"Um...actually I thinking we should just go to Ham Ham Land and wing it. I know it doesn't sound like a very good plan, but I was thinking 'why not let fate point us in the right direction?' After all, it was fate that brought us together."

Sandy let out a soft giggle. "You're right. No matter what happens, I'm sure we'll have totally awesome anniversary tomorrow."

"Yeah." Maxwell smiled, feeling satisfied with his girl ham's response. Then...

"Oh Maxy..." Maxwell's attention was once again directed towards Sandy, only this time his eyes seemed a lot more playful, which matched his cute smile. He could easily see the desire in Sandy's eyes, inviting him to caress Sandy's cheek again. Sandy felt that tingling sensation surge all over her body with every stroke as she began to moan. They both set their eyes on each other, both containing a driving passion within their body. Soon, Maxwell's face started closing in on Sandy's, their lips chasing away the distance. They felt time rewind as they were about to experience their most romantic moment once again. Then...

"SANDY!" The two suddenly pulled away as the voices of three young girl hams echoed through the air. The couple didn't say anything, but they knew already that they should probably continue their 'flashback' another time…when there's no one is around to bother them.

After pouting for a few seconds, Sandy finally turned to her friends. "Hey girls, what's—" Before she could say a word, a paw snatched Sandy's paw and soon dragged her away in a rush, confusing the poor little tiger.

"We need to borrow you for a second!" Bijou frantically told her friend without even glancing at her.

"Where are we going?"

"Don't worry about that, ookwee! Right now, let's get you over there so we can get you fit."

"Fit?"

Meanwhile, Maxwell watched the dust from the rampage simmer with his eyes reduced to dots. Apparently, his girl ham was dragged away for unknown reasons. _'Perhaps it's a girl thing…' _was the first thing that went through his mind. Before he could contemplate it any further, a circular shadow appeared on the ground. Maxwell, who was puzzled as to what object that shadow belonged to, watched it get smaller and smaller until…

"BULL'S EYE!" …the object tightened around his sides, halting Maxwell's ability to move. It turns out that object was actually a rope, wielded the only rowdy ham ham.

"Howdy, what are you doing!"

Ignoring the bewildered bookworm, Howdy turned to his partner in crime in the driver's seat and gave a thumbs up. "We've got 'im hogtied! Now let's skedaddle over to ham ham land!"

Dexter, currently the driver of one of Panda's vehicles, gave Howdy a cynical glare, but decided to turn the key. "Honestly, your rambunctious manner has to be second to your jokes in my list of the reasons I hate you so much." With his foot on the pedal, the car zoomed toward ham ham land…with Maxwell in tow.

"YEEHAW!"

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

Behind a nearby tree…

"It was obviously a bad idea to let Howdy and Dexter handle this…" Boss groaned as his shoulders slumped.

Hamtaro let out a small laugh. "Well, at least they're willing to help. Hey Boss, what are you in charge of?"

Hearing Hamtaro's question, Boss began to grin deviously. He was up to something… "Oh you'll see later tonight…" He was going to enjoy his job, whatever it was…

"Heke…?"

After about an hour of driving and wailing from Maxwell at the back, Howdy and Dexter parked the vehicle right in front of their destination: Pistachios' Tailoring, the only place for a ham ham to get the best suits and tuxedos. As discussed last night, a groom must be dressed appropriately, and so the girls asked Howdy and Dexter to get Maxwell fitted for a tuxedo right away.

After finally getting Maxwell on his feet, the three entered the tailor's store. Maxwell, unbeknownst to the reason behind all this, decided to go along with them. A tanned hamster with a moustache greeted them at the door as they entered.

"Ah welcome to Pistachios' Tailoring. How may I help you?"

"We'd like a nice black tuxedo for our friend over here." Dexter politely replied, pointing to his taller friend. "He has something special coming up, so we need him fit as soon as possible."

"Ah understand. Please follow me as I take your measurements."

"Wait! Dexter, what do you mean by special day?" It was too late. By the time he finished, Maxwell was already past the curtains and into the fitting room.

Meanwhile, the girls have brought their friend Sandy to Chestnut's Bridalwear, where they have had Sandy fit and ready for the dress. All they needed to do was have Sandy wear the dress and add some adjustments here and there to have her ready for her wedding…which she still does not have a clue about.

"If we could just fix this over here, I think we'll be done for today." Pashmina said as she continued to examine Sandy's wedding gown.

"Oui! Perhaps some jewelry will be magnifique, no?" Bijou happily chimed as she searched for the perfect accessories to match Sandy's dress.

"Yeah and then if I could arrange the veil…" Before Penelope could finish…

"Hold it!" Finally taking their attention off their work, the girl hams finally faced their confused friend. "Like, what's going on here? What's the dress for?"

Not wanting to give away the surprise, Bijou formulated the only reply they could give. "Well…we will be celebrating something unique tomorrow, and you're the only one without a dress so…"

"Well, what are we celebrating?" Once again, the three were being held in a tight spot.

The last thing they needed was to blow the surprise in front of Sandy right here. There was only one thing that they could say…

"We're celebrating White Day, ookwee!"

The other three girl hams quickly jerked their heads to the ecstatic Penelope. "White Day?"

"Yeah, you know. The day that comes after Valentine's Day!"

However, Sandy was still not buying it. Unfortunately, Penelope left out a couple of facts about White Day. "Penelope, first of all, White Day is celebrated a month later. Second, White Day is when the guys give the girls candy."

Seeing that Penelope was in trouble, Pashmina stepped in to help her little friend. "No, this is a different White Day. The humans made it up just this year!"

"Really?"

"Oui!" Bijou replied hesitantly. "The humans thought that we should respect the color white, so they created this White Day, where the girls wear white and the boys wear black."

"Um…but doesn't that mean it should be called 'White and Black Day'?"

"Yeah, but that's because humans don't need to worry about the little details here and there…"

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, we're sure!" The girls nodded frantically, hoping that Sandy would buy it this time.

Sandy stood there in thought for several minutes, but luckily for the girl hams, she gave in. "Well…alright. Let's get this over with so we can do something fun."

"Okay!" And so, the girls continued their work on Sandy's gown. What they didn't know, though, was that in her mind, Sandy still didn't believe them. In fact, she felt that all they had said was made up. _They're planning something. I know they are. I mean, there isn't a holiday where girls dress up in white and guys dress up in black…is there? Or maybe there is…I should ask Maxy later…_

Speaking of which, Maxwell was having a tougher time understanding his own predicament. However, it wasn't because it seemed odd that he was suddenly trying on a tuxedo.

"You're doing it all wrong! The belt shouldn't be that loose!"

"Well, stop trying to hogtie his neck with that thing! You're gonna make the guy croak!"

…it was the fact that Howdy and Dexter were unknowingly cutting off Maxwell's air supply. The two, much to Maxwell's dismay, weren't getting along. Though it had become a normal habit of them over the past few years, the more they argued, the less attention they paid to Maxwell, and the more Maxwell needed to get out of this sticky situation. However, their loud exchanges plus Maxwell inability to breathe at this time drowned out the helpless bookworm's pleas.

Luckily, another ham ham was around to see the now blueberry colored face of the taller hamster. After taking a few minutes to sigh…

"DROP THE TIE AND THE BELT AND PUT YOUR PAWS IN THE AIR!"

Startled by the sudden booming voice, Howdy and Dexter quickly dropped their 'weapons' and did as they were told, allowing Maxwell to finally catch his breath. However, when the two finally saw who it really was, they began to cringe.

"Honestly, we have to get you away from those violent video games, Stan…" Dexter groaned, feeling silly to have believed that the other half of the tiger twins was a cop.

Stan, however, struck back at the troublesome duo. "Hey, I think Sandy wants her boyham to be alive tomorrow, so why not give him some air?"

"Well maybe ya'll should blame four eyes over here…" Howdy rolled his eyes as his thumb directed Stan to Dexter.

"Me! You were the one who ripped the first pair of pants!"

"Well that wouldn't 've been my fault if you hadn't tried to choke me with one of the ties!"

"Oh yeah!"

Ignoring the two, Stan made his way toward Maxwell and pulled him into the other room to fix his tuxedo. After a few minutes and a couple of alterations, Maxwell looked tidy in his brand new tuxedo. In fact, Maxwell looked like a rich and handsome billionaire ready to bring his girl around the world.

"Wow, I didn't think you would do such a great job on this, Stan."

"Hey, you're talking to the guy who can pick up ten chicks in seconds…" The flirtatious ham grinned with his thumbs up.

Maxwell wasn't as impressed, though. "Yeah…and then within a few nanoseconds, those same girls begin tearing you apart…"

"Well, whatever. You're ready to go, Maxwell. I've already paid for the tux, so just head out and enjoy the rest of the day."

"Thanks, Stan." Before Maxwell left, he turned back to Stan and asked him, "Hey, what is really happening today and tomorrow? What's everyone in a rush for?"

Stan hesitated for a few seconds. He couldn't exactly answer Maxwell's question for it would blow everyone's cover. Then, Stan just grinned at Maxwell and shoved him out of the room. "I'll tell you later tonight. Just get out of here before those two screws you again."

Later that day, Maxwell, while holding the tuxedo, traveled down the sidewalks of ham ham land. Throughout the day, he had been pondering what the ham hams were keeping from him. First, the girl hams suddenly abducted his girl, then he was abducted by Howdy and Dexter, and then Stan helped him with the tuxedo. _What's going on? Why is everyone suddenly in a rush? _Then, his thoughts soon came to a halt when he stumbled upon a nearby store called 'Emerald's Emeralds and Other Fine Jewelry'. It was then that Maxwell finally remembered. _I almost forgot! I was supposed to come here to buy a present for Sandy! Looks like it came to me at the nick of time. Let's go in and see what's inside…_

Meanwhile, the girl hams have already left ham ham land and were right in front of Elder Ham's cozy rock. Of course, the rock was simply the door for his underground hideaway. Before entering, the girl hams told Sandy to stay put in front of the rock. She, of course, asked why she had to wait, but they didn't give an answer. Sandy didn't want to accept that, but she decided to be a good friend and wait outside.

A few minutes passed and Sandy was already getting really bored. Sitting around and doing nothing was almost torture to the normally energetic hamster. In addition, her stomach began to rumble, begging Sandy to get something to eat. However, she still had her promise to keep to the girls. After taking a few minutes to contemplate the two choices, she kicked the rock, causing it to fall back, revealing the pathway to the hideaway. With that, she stepped into the hidden tunnel. _I hope the girls don't mind me getting a snack. _

At Elder Ham's place…

"Ah, Sandy and Maxwell are getting married? That is indeed interesting…" The bushy eyebrowed old ham tiredly said. The girl hams had explained everything to him about the wedding.

"Panda will be done with the setup this afternoon. Hamtaro and Oxnard have gotten Chef Ham to cater the wedding and Stan and Sparkle have asked Jingle to be the wedding singer. Cappy will be arriving soon with a pillow. So will you please act as the priest?" Pashmina pleaded him, hoping he would say yes. "I'm sure they would be honored if you could the sermon."

However, Elder Ham cocked an eyebrow for a few seconds, realizing one of the possible reasons why they were asking him to become the priest. "I hope you're not basing this off my age…"

"Oh, of course not. Sorry, if you were thinking that way." Bijou apologized to the older ham, reassuring the old ham.

"Well alright then. It's a good thing I've been reading some books on weddings lately. I just hope you invited Auntie Viv as well."

"Of course. We invited all our friends, ookwee! Let's see…we've got Jingle, the Mini Hamuzu, Stucky, Pepper…"

"It would be sad if they all missed the best wedding ever!"

"Oh…so that's what this is all about...?" Suddenly, the girl hams' fur began to stand on its ends as their eyes widened. They were hoping it wasn't who they thought it was, but they slowly turned their heads to the door way. Standing there was the tiger ham, eyeing her friends suspiciously with her arms crossed.

"Sandy…?"

Soon, night fell upon the clubhouse. Inside, all the boy hams were seated around the table. Maxwell, who was in ham ham land, was suddenly dragged again from where he was and back into the clubhouse, where everyone was waiting for him. It was a very peculiar day for him, but he was relieved to at least have in his possession his present to Sandy. _It took awhile, but I think I've found it. Now I just need to wait till tomorrow…_

After clearing his throat, Boss was ready to give an announcement. "Now that we're all here, we can finally get down to business. With Maxwell's special day tomorrow, it's time that we cheer for him!" The other boys began to root and cheer for the still clueless bookworm. Even now, he did not understand what this special day was. "Now it's time we really celebrated!" Not waiting to spend another minute standing around, Boss ran over to a giant bundle wrapped in a sheet and finally unveiled his 'secret stash': a series of bottles stacked and corked.

However, some of the ham hams, namely Hamtaro, did not understand why Boss would be hording these things. Then, Hamtaro finally asked him, "What are they?"

"You mean you don't know? This is sake, the best thing to gulp down right before the big day!" Wanting to take the first gulp, Boss hastily grabbed one bottled, uncorked it, and chugged the liquid down his throat. A tinge of pink flashed on his face, but Boss was oddly happy.

"What's sake?" Cappy asked.

"You won't know what it is until you try it!" Boss, who was acting a little strange, gave Cappy his own bottle. Not knowing what it was, Cappy uncorked the bottle and was about to sip it…until Panda snatched the bottle out of Cappy's paws and narrowed his eyes at Boss. Out of all the ham hams, he was one of the few who knew what it really was.

"Boss, this is alcohol!"

"Oh c'mon, Panda. It's not like it's gonna hurt anyone. Besides, with the big day coming, it's only right that we chug down all this. I'm sure everyone won't mind, right?"

"Boss!"

Ignoring Panda's whining, Stan headed for the stash of sake. "Mind if I take one?"

"You dun need to ask…just take it…"

"Don't mind if I do." And so, Stan grabbed one of the bottles and took a shot of the alcoholic beverage. "Aaaaaah…now that's real sake!"

"Stan!"

"What? Like Boss said, this is the perfect time to start drinking. It's not like we're gonna become alcoholics."

Suddenly, Howdy began to shake his paw wildly in the air. "Hey, toss one over here, partner!" Seeing that the party was about to begin, Stan grabbed another bottle and hurled towards Howdy. Howdy, in one swift motion, uncorked the bottle and took a shot of the rice wine. "Hell yeah! This is real brewin' here, Boss."

"Howdy, I can't believe you would start drinking!"

"Oh hush up, Dex! Why not join th' party?" Before Dexter could protest, Howdy had already stuck the bottle in Dexter's mouth.

"Hey Maxwell, you want one too?" Stan asked his soon to be brother-in-law. "It's your day you know!"

However, Maxwell shook his head. "No, it's alright. I don't need it."

"C'mon! Just a sip!"

"Well…alright…"

"C'mon everyone! Join in!"

After a few minutes of hesitation, all the boy hams decided to join Boss and took a sip of the sake. However, the minute they took a sip…they were coming back for more…

About an hour later in the tunnels heading toward the clubhouse, the girl hams were dealing with their own problems…

"Sandy, please understand that we only wanted you to be happy!"

"Oui! We only wanted to help you and Maxwell!"

"It's your anniversary tomorrow, ookwee! Don't you think it'd be nice if you two got married?"

Before the three could rant, Sandy put her paw in front of them to prevent them from turning it into an uproar. Finally, she let out a small sigh and began to speak. "I'm glad you guys are looking for me. I appreciate it…but I think it would've been better if Maxwell and I discussed it first before going through with it."

"But Sandy, we've got it all booked and everything."

However, that didn't matter to Sandy at all as she put her paw on the door. "It doesn't matter. If Maxwell feels we're not ready, then I don't either. I know you three went through so much work, but…oh no…"

"What's wrong, S—what happened here…?" Much to their dismay, all the boy hams were scattered all over the clubhouse with giant bottles in their hands. Each one of their faces was tinged with a shade of pink. The clubhouse itself was in a total mess. The furniture was either overturned or broken and bottles were scattered everywhere.

"And I thought we could trust them…" Pashmina smacked her forehead in dismay as she picked up a couple of bottles and placed them in the garbage. The other three girl hams agreed and began to pick up the bottles, agreeing to later give the boy hams a stern talk about alcohol.

As Sandy picked up a couple of bottles, she noticed her boyham lying face down with his green book covering his face. Though a little disappointed that he was drinking, Sandy thought Maxwell looked cute and even funny in that position. She pulled off the book and began to gently run her paw through his fur. _He can be so funny sometimes and yet he's so intelligent. Not only is he book smart, but he's able to think quickly in even the most urgent of situations. He cares for me so much, willing to protect me from whatever harm comes our way. I love him so much…and he loves me too. We've been together for two years now…are we really ready for this…? Is it really time to take it to the next stage? _Before she could contemplate it even further, she felt a firm paw touch her shoulder. She turned her head, seeing her twin grinning at her.

"Back so soon?"

Sandy wanted to smile, but then she remembered that all the boy hams were apparently involved in this party. Soon realizing that, she began to grit her teeth and then suddenly pounced on her brother. "Stan, why were you and the rest of the ham hams drinking?"

"Hey hey hey. Blame Bijou and Pashmina for that."

Soon realizing that Stan was awake, Bijou and Pashmina ran towards Stan and grabbed him too.

"What do you mean this is our fault!" Pashmina yelled as she gave Stan a death glare.

"This was the fault of all the boys!"

"Well, first of all, this was all Boss' sake." Stan told the girls as he got himself out of Pashmina and Sandy's grip. "And second, you told us to throw a bachelor party for Maxwell; since that was a traditional party the boys celebrated the groom."

"Yeah, but we didn't tell you to get drunk!"

"But that's what happens during a bachelor party! The groom and the guys whip out the alcohol and start chugging it."

Bijou didn't want to believe it, but she checked her 'Weddings for Dummies' guide and looked up Bachelor Party. Turns out that Stan was right. During most parties, especially the bachelor party, the guys would go wild and start drinking. It made the girls cringe in disgust, but it was in the book, so they really couldn't complain. Still, there was one thing that bothered them…

"By the way, why aren't you knocked out like everyone else?"

"Well, let's just say I can hold my liquor." Stan grinned as he scratched the back of his head. The girls shook their heads, but they were glad that at least one guy was sober enough to explain. Stan then stared down at Maxwell, who was still out. Sandy was silently patting his fur. Looking at them, Stan felt that perhaps it was time to tell the truth. "Hey Sandy, wanna bring Maxwell outside to sober up? I need to talk to you for a few minutes anyway."

Sandy nodded in agreement and began to drag Maxwell towards the door. She too needed to talk to Stan.

Later, Stan and Sandy were sitting next to each other under the stars with Maxwell lying on Sandy's lap. The night sky was totally devoid of clouds, allowing the full moon to illuminate the star filled sky. A gentle breeze swept across the blades of grass and through Sandy and Stan's fur. It was a calming scene for this moment.

Finally breaking the silence, Stan lowered his head and began to speak. "Hey Sandy, I'm sorry that we didn't tell you. I think you know already what's going on, right?"

Sandy nodded as she petted her boy ham, knowing exactly where this conversation was going. "I heard the girl hams asking Elder Ham to be the priest for the wedding, and that's when I finally realized it."

"Well…what are you planning on doing?"

Sandy then began to bow her head. "I don't really know. I really love Maxwell…but I never even thought of actually marrying him. We never even discussed it. All I know is that I love him and he loves me, and we've been doing it for over two years…"

"So do you think that you might not be ready for it?"

Sandy shook her head, still not taking her eyes off her sleepy boyham. "Well…I feel like I'm ready for it actually. We've been together for so long; I think it's about time we take this to the next level." Sandy then paused for a few minutes to look up at the sky to clear her head for a few minutes. Letting her thoughts gather in her head, she finally began to speak again. "However…I'm just worried about Maxwell. I mean, I feel that I'm ready…but what about Maxwell? Just early this morning, we were talking about going on another date, and here we are…about to get married in a few hours. Will he accept this? Maxwell didn't even propose to me…"

"So why not do it now?" Sandy suddenly gasped. That warm voice belonged to only one ham ham. She looked down again. Lying on her lap was her sweet boyham, smiling warmly at her as his eyes began to shine like the full moon above.

"Maxwell…"

Now that he was sober, Maxwell slipped out of his position on Sandy's lap and looked her in the eyes. His paw gently caressed her cheek, causing her to silently moan. Finally, with true determination in his eyes, Maxwell let out those four words… "Sandy…will you marry me?"

"Maxwell…" Sandy was left totally speechless. She didn't know what to do or say for it was at this very moment under the luminous moon that Maxwell said the four words that would bind them together for eternity. Soon, tears began stream down her fur; tears of true joy. When the gentle breeze whisked through Sandy's fur, Sandy suddenly wrapped her arms around Maxwell's torso. "Maxwell…of course. You're the only boyham I want to be with. I want to be with you forever…"

"Sandy…" Maxwell looked down at his beautiful young girlham and brought her head to his chest, allowing Sandy to rest her head. His paw caressed her soft fur as a warm smile graced his lips. Using those same lips, he landed a brief yet loving kiss on her forehead. Sandy didn't want to forget this moment…ever. However, she began to grow tired. She tried to stay awake, but sleep was taking over. Maxwell, however, continued to caress her fur, nuzzling her head with his nose. "Don't worry, Sandy. Just sleep. We need to be ready for tomorrow." Sandy slowly nodded and soon her eyes slowly shut. Maxwell smiled as his girlham finally drifted to sleep, now reversing the roles of earlier.

Stan, who witnessed the entire proposal, could not help but smile as well. Sandy had truly gotten what she had wished for. As the only part of her family left, it was a touching moment. After staying silent for a few minutes, he took a seat on the ground next to Sandy and Maxwell. "Wow…I thought you were gonna faint when you finally realized that you were gonna have a wedding tomorrow."

"Well, I was a little surprised at first." Maxwell finally replied. "It made sense why everyone was so busy and I was going to stay silent throughout the conversation…but then I began to think about our relationship. I, myself, felt like taking our relationship further, but I was scared that maybe Sandy wouldn't want to go through with it. Then, when I heard Sandy getting worried that I might not agree…I had no choice but to finally ask her for her paw in marriage."

"Heh…well I'm glad you went through with it." Stan grinned, happy for both Maxwell and Sandy. "Actually, I thought you were gonna screw something up. After all, you did get pretty drunk."

"You and Boss are at fault for that…"

Stan chuckled. "Hey, be glad that you got sober a lot faster than everyone else. I'm sure everyone is still lying all over the clubhouse, but hey, that's what a Bachelor Party is."

Maxwell let out a small chuckle. Though weird, it was a bit funny how everyone got drunk tonight. Then, Maxwell looked into the sky, watching the stars twinkle in the sky. The constellations above helped him bring his thoughts together. When he finally gathered all his thoughts, he turned to Stan. "Hey Stan, what are your thoughts on this? I remember how you reacted last year…so I was wondering…"

Stan's eyes peered into the sky as the memories began to flood again. Last year was almost a disaster for him. He remembered how shocked and angered that Maxwell would take Sandy out, thinking that he may lose his sister to a bookworm. He remembered all the plans he set forth just to ruin the date, whether it be disguising as a waiter or cosplaying as Spat. And then, he remembered those dreams. His memories of his mother protecting him and his sister continued flood his mind…as well as his promise. Finally, with all his thoughts gathered, he turned to Maxwell. "Sandy was always a loud, noisy brat back then. She was so immature, but now she has grown up. The freedom she has had allowed her to finally grow into a matured girlham. I will always be around to protect her as her brother, but it's about time to stop keeping her back. This is her own decision and if she chooses this, then I will stand by her decision."

Maxwell was a little surprised with Stan. This was perhaps the first time Maxwell has heard Stan talk like a mature brother. Maxwell knew that the bond between Stan and Sandy was strong, but he never realized how much Stan loved his sister. It almost made sense why he did what he did last year. Maxwell couldn't help but smile. "Thank you, Stan." Stan, acting cool, let out a 'heh' and fell backwards, allowing himself to lie down on the soft grass. With Sandy still in his arms, Maxwell landed another small kiss on her forehead and soon drifted to sleep. _Tomorrow is the day…the day the two of us will enter the greatest stage in our relationship…_

February 16. It had finally come. The ham ham's greatest moment was about to take place: Sandy and Maxwell coming together in holy matrimony. The wedding, which was setup on Acorn Mountain, was already coming together. Panda had already built the altar for Elder Ham's sermon. Chef Ham was already setting up tables of delicious food for the reception. Oxnard stared longingly at the food as the scent beckoned him to eat. Luckily, Pepper was around to prevent Oxnard from eating a little too early. He apologized and walked her to their seats. Jingle, who brought Djungian Chrous, practiced numerous tunes for the wedding. Everything was set…except for one thing…

"WHERE IS THE BRIDE AND GROOM!"

Back at the Clubhouse, Maxwell had finally awoken from his slumber. Sandy, who was still resting on his chest, was fast asleep. He looked to his side and noticed that Stan was still asleep. Maxwell took his free paw and gently shook the other tiger ham. "Hey Stan, what time is it…?"

After being shaken a bit, Stan had finally woken up. Since he had no watch, he decided to look up to the sky for the answer. The sky was clear and the sun shined overhead. After analyzing the sun's position, Stan came to one conclusion. "Its noon." He groggily uttered as he fell back on his side. Just as he was about to close his eyes, his eye lids immediately snapped open. Apparently, he just realized one thing. "It's noon! Oh crap…Maxwell, get Sandy up and let's go!"

"Eh? Why now?"

"Because your wedding is being held at noon! Now get up!"

At that instant, Maxwell bolted up from his position. If what Stan said was true, then they had to get up right away. He shook Sandy and told her the whole thing. In seconds, the three headed toward Acorn Mountain.

After a few minutes of high speed running, the three hams had finally reached Acorn Mountain, Stan's 'former' secret spot. Acorn Mountain was a quaint tranquil land. Even after Stan told the ham hams about the place, it had remained untouched by anyone besides the ham hams. With no distractions in sight (such as humans, cats, and chickies), this was the perfect place to hold the wedding.

After catching their breath, the three finally met up with their fellow ham hams. They were all wondering why Sandy and Maxwell were so late for their special day, but all that mattered was that they were here. The couple then temporarily split to get their wedding garments on; the ham hams following in tow.

Once again, Stan, who was already dressed up, helped Maxwell with his tuxedo since he did such a great job last time. After fixing Maxwell's jacket and tie, Stan gave Maxwell a thumbs up. "Yup, you're all ready, pal." Maxwell looked more than ready. As a matter of fact, he looked even better than he had ever expected. His fur chestnut fur was quite tidy and with the suit on, he looked like the richest ham ham in the world.

"Thanks again, Stan." Maxwell breathed out a sigh, a little nervous about the coming events. "So this is it. We're getting married here and now."

"Something wrong?"

Maxwell shook his head as he put his paw behind his head to scratch it. "No, just a little nervous."

"Heh. I'm not surprised."

"Hey Stan, can you do me a favor?" Maxwell asked his spouse's brother.

"Hm? What is it?"

The wedding was about to begin. Sandy, who stood behind the floral arc leading to the podium, allowed the girls to make several minor adjustments, even though she felt that she didn't need them. Her pearl white dress was already a sight to behold. On her head was the dainty white veil. After finally fixing everything, the girl hams got to their positions and awaited their parts.

Sandy let out a brief sigh. She too was a little nervous about the whole ordeal. "I can't believe this is happening…"

"Well you'd better believe it, because we worked so hard for it." Sandy quickly spun around. Standing in front of her was her loving brother, grinning all the while.

"Stan, what are you doing here?"

Before he answered, Stan grabbed Sandy's arm and wrapped his around hers. "Don't worry about that, my beloved daughter."

"Daughter! Stan, are you still drunk!" Sandy yelled her brother in frustration.

"No, actually I'm here to escort you, sis."

"Escort?"

"Yeah, it was Maxwell's idea. You see…

"_Stan, you're Sandy's only family left. I've read that in weddings, the father would escort the daughter to their future husband. However, her father isn't here. If it isn't too much trouble, could you escort Sandy down the aisle as her father?"_

"Maxwell…" Sandy almost felt spoiled now. She had two hams that truly cared for her; who would do anything for her. She had a brother, who continually watched her grow up…as if he were a parent. And then she had her true love and soon-to-be husband, the one who brought her joy every time she was down. She wanted to cry, but now wasn't the time. With her eyes shinning through her veil, she was ready for her eternal commitment. "Stan, let's go."

As soon as Stan nodded, the sky was filled with the graceful sounds of 'Here Comes the Bride'. Penelope, acting as the flower girl, skipped happily down the carpet, letting the delicate flowers float through the air. Right beside her was Cappy, carrying a royal purple pillow towards the front and giving it to Panda, Maxwell's best ham. Panda nodded happily as he took the pillow from Cappy. Then, both he and the groom finally set their eyes on bride, coming down the aisle with her 'father figure', who looked oddly like her, clutching her arm. As the slowly marched down the aisle, cheers were coming from all around the place. The friends they've met over the years had come all the way here, just to see the two get married. Moving closer to the front, she finally saw the greatest supporters of their wedding, the ham hams. From the beginning, the ham hams had showed their support and appreciation for the couple, helping them whenever they needed their help. Now they were here once again, putting forth all their energy to ensure that the wedding ends happily. Finally, she reached the front of the aisle, where her true love was standing. No matter what happened, he was there, willing to support Sandy. Now, he was here again, smiling at his bride as he gently took his lover's paw. The bride couldn't help but smile. This was finally it…the moment of truth…

After allowing the crowd to settle down, Elder Ham approached the altar as the acting priest. He smiled warmly as he stared at the couple. Just looking at them, he knew that they would be together for a very long time. Taking a few minutes to clear his throat, Elder Ham finally began the holy sacrament. "Boy hams and girl hams, we are here today in holy matrimony to witness the bond of these two young hams…"

…

After all the ham hams got up to speak for the couple, Elder ham stood in front of the bride and groom, who were still smiling. Ready to get into one of the most important parts of wedding, he turned to Maxwell. "Does your best ham have the ring?"

"Ring?" Panda spoke out of turn.

"Yes, ring. Didn't young Cappy give it to you?"

Panda, who was a little surprised when he heard he was supposed to have a ring, looked in his paws. Apparently, what he had was not exactly a ring. "All Cappy gave me was a pillow…"

"YOU IDIOTS, THE RING WAS SUPPOSED TO GO ON THE PILLOW!" Panda began to sweat now that he was in this hot spot. However, it wasn't all his fault and the girl hams knew it. They checked the 'Weddings for Dummies' guide and something odd. The text read 'The ring bearer takes the pillow to the best man…The groom exchanges the vows'. It was then that they realized what was happening: they found out that several pages, for some odd reason, were missing. It was possible that those few pages detailed the ring ceremony, which was crucial to the wedding. The girls felt stupid, realizing that the wedding would be ruined and they were at fault for it.

Then, a sudden laughter filled the room. No one knew where it came from until they looked to front. Of all hamsters to laugh at this moment, the groom was the only one laughing. All of them just stared oddly at him, not seeing how funny this situation was. Even Sandy was staring at Maxwell oddly. She couldn't understand why Maxwell could be laughing during a crisis like this.

Finally, after he numbed his laughter, he turned to Sandy with his eyes shinning warmly for his bride as he reached into his pocket. "I'm sorry, Sandy. It's just so funny…how fate works sometimes." Sandy suddenly gasped. Pulling his paw out of his pocket, he revealed a small black case. When he finally opened the cased, inside was a beautiful twinkling sapphire ring. No one could speak at the moment, for fate has made one of the most ironic turns. For a second, everyone was worried that the absence of the ring would ruin everything, but then Maxwell had the ring after all. "Sandy, this ring was originally supposed to be my present to you for being with me for over two years. Now, this ring will be the one that will bind us together." Sandy, totally speechless, simply closed her eyes and smiled. Fate was totally on their side. With that over with, Sandy put out her paw, waiting for Maxwell to place the ring on her paw. Smiling happily, Maxwell took her paw and said his vow. "I, Maxwell, give you, Sandy, this ring as an eternal symbol of my love and commitment to you…"

…

"Do you, Maxwell, take Sandy to be your lawfully wedded wife, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, until death do you part."

"I do."

"And Sandy, do you take Maxwell to be your lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, until death do you part."

"I do."

With the wedding coming to a close, Elder Ham allowed a small smile form on his lips as he raised his arms. "With all the power vested in my, I pronounce you husband and wife. You may now kiss the bride."

After vowing to stay together for eternity, Maxwell slowly but daintily pulled the veil off Sandy's face. He allowed his eyes to stare at his now beautiful wife once again. Her eyes glittered like the stars of the night and her face was emblazoned with a blush. It was time to truly seal their commitment. And so, Maxwell's lips moved toward Sandy's until he finally made impact with her. The two kissed for the first time as husband and wife in front of all their friends. Soon, the ham hams cheered happily for the couple. Some clapped and rooted for the couple, while others like Boss simply cried out of happiness. The two have been together for two years and now they were destined to stay together for all eternity…

Soon, the newly weds were in front of the very same blue convertible that brought them through their first date. Being the chivalrous ham he was, Maxwell opened the door once again for Sandy. She gladly bowed and took her seat. Maxwell then jumped into the driver seat and turned the key to ignition. Noticing the girl hams cheering for them, Sandy stood on top of her seat with the bouquet in her paws.

At that instant, all the girls went crazy for the bundle of flowers, the symbol of the next girl to be wedded.

_I hope I get it! Once I do, I'm gonna ask Panda out!_

_Ooooh, I hope Hamtaro takes my paw too!_

_Cappy, I hope you take my paw once I catch this, ookwee!_

Seeing the girls go nuts for the bouquet was almost funny to Sandy. Using her good arm, she tossed the bouquet into the air, hoping for nothing but happiness for the one who catches it. The girls tried their best to catch it as it flailed through the clear sky. Then, someone finally caught it…but it was the last person who wanted it.

"BOSS, WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME THERE WAS SAK—huh?"

Of all girl hams to catch it, the girls couldn't believe it would be…

"SPARKLE!"

Boss snickered as he got up from the ground. "You and me? Oh please, that's never gonna happen…"

Sparkle seemed to think different in her mind, but of course she would never let her mind or her heart speak. "That's right! I'm never getting married to likes of you!"

"WHAT!"

Ignoring Boss, Sparkle tossed the bouquet to the girls. "Here." Once again, the girls dove for it, but the one who came out victorious was our little flower girl.

"Tee hee…looks like we're next up after Boss and Sparkle, right Cappy?"

"Heke?"

"HEY, WHO SAID WE WERE GETTING MARRIED!"

…

_Looking back at their friends, the newly wedded couple prepared for their next adventure, paw in paw. They lived their life to fullest; their relationship growing with each moment. And so, the two lived happily ever after. _

_**The End**_

"That was the best story ever!"

"I knew you'd like it." An older but oddly familiar tiger striped girl ham giggled as she watched the younger similarly tiger striped girl ham cheer. Two years have passed and Sandy was now both a wife and a mother of a beautiful young daughter named Star. Star looked a lot like Sandy, but the stripes on her forehead were replaced a bright emerald star, hence the name. Sandy smiled as her young daughter's eyes began to flutter out of sleepiness. "Alright, now it's time for bed."

Before she got into her sleeping position, Star asked her mother, "Hey, what happened to daddy?"

Sandy almost didn't want to answer it, not wanting her to find out what happened to Maxwell. Instead, she did the same thing her mother did: tell her daughter a white lie. "He needed to leave for awhile. Don't worry, he'll come back. I promise."

"I hope so." And with that, Star finally drifted to sleep on the woodchips.

Sandy, after seeing that Star was finally asleep, patted her head and silently said, "I hope so too." Suddenly, a loud knock was coming from the nearby window. Knowing who it was, Sandy headed to the window sill. Before she opened the window, she took one sniff and her face contorted out of disappointment. When she opened the window, she saw another tiger ham carrying a familiar brown ham ham on his shoulder.

"Hey sis. Sorry we're late."

"DON'T SORRY ME, STAN! BOSS THREW ANOTHER DRINKING PARTY, DIDN'T HE!"

"Whoa…calm down there, sis. Boss thought it was appropriate since Maxwell's book was such a hit. Just be glad I was able to carry him all the way over here." Stan groaned as he laid Sandy's husband on the window sill. "He should be up in a few minutes. See ya at the clubhouse tomorrow!" With that, Stan quickly left Hillary's room, wanting to avoid her wrath.

"STANELY, YOU GET BACK HERE! Grrrrrr…" Sandy smacked her forehead in dismay. Maxwell had become a bit of an author lately, writing stories about the adventures all the ham hams had gone on. Now that his third book became such a success, it was obvious that another party was going to take place…one thrown by Boss.

Finally, Maxwell got up from the sill, blinking for a few seconds to adjust his eyes. When his vision was focused, he saw his angry wife looking down on him. "Oh, hi Sandy."

Sandy wanted to scold Maxwell, but she already knew that he was probably pressured into drinking again. She decided spare him mercy and reminded herself to punish Stan tomorrow. "I'll go easy this time, but please don't go drinking again…"

Maxwell chuckled. "I'm sorry. You know how Boss is." After laughing for a bit, he saw Sandy heading back to her cage. In her paws was a book entitled 'Aishiteru', which soon perked his interest. His lips formed a grin as he crept up to his wife. Suddenly, he wrapped his arms around his lover. Sandy, out of shock, was about to struggle, but feeling Maxwell nuzzle her neck with his nose calmed her down. She was glad that her husband was home once again, safe and sound. Then, taking the book from her paw, he opened it and asked her, "Sandy, could you please read the final lines of chapter 7?"

Knowing exactly what those lines were, Sandy happily agreed. She took her free paw and traced the words until she found the exact lines she was looking for. The lines that soon brought a sudden rush of nostalgia and romance…

_Aishiteru…Noppo-kun…_

_Aishiteru…Torahamu-chan… _

* * *

After nearly two years working on this fic, it is finally complete! I almost thought I wouldn't complete it, but the after all the support everyone has given me, I have finally finished it. 

Looking back at this chapter, I think this should've been the ending of chapter 7. This ending came out so much better than the final chapter, but at least I know this epilogue came together very well. So yes, the surprise is that Sandy and Maxwell finally get married. To tell the truth, there was actually more parts that involved the other ham hams, but it would've taken a lot longer to post this chapter had I spent more time thinking of the others. It is good as it is now. I know I cut out or messed up part of the wedding, but I did that for a couple of reasons: First, I haven't been to a wedding in a very long time. Second, there were religious issues. Whether the ham hams worship God or not is unknown, so I made sure to keep that out of the wedding. As for why Sparkle got the bouquet, I just wanted to make it funny. Also, Penelope getting the bouquet is supposed to foreshadow my Christmas fic. Oh and if you still don't know, Sandy and Maxwell's daughter, Star, was a character created by KatyChan herself. Of course, I asked permission if I could use her.

And so, the fic has finally come to an end. Thank you to everyone who supported me throughout these years, especially KatyChan and Ravens. Please look forward to my next several fics, which are mentioned in my profile. Until next time, this is Kyuuseishu 'Burnfist' Setsuna signing off.


End file.
